Influence of solvents on morphology of TiO2 fibers prepared by template synthesis

TiO2 fibers were fabricated through heat treatment of titanium alkoxide dissolved in a solvent (ethanol and toluene) under autogenous pressure, using activated carbon fibers as templates. For comparison, a supercritical CO2 process was also employed. The difference in the solvent’s affinity for water led to a large difference in the morphology of TiO2 fibers produced. Moreover, the fibers synthesized using toluene in our relatively mild conditions exhibited a similar pore size distribution and surface area to those made using supercritical CO2.