Impact of reaction temperature, stirring and cosolvent on the solvothermal synthesis of anatase TiO2 and TiO2/titanate hybrid nanostructures: Elucidating the growth mechanism

One-dimensional anatase TiO2 and hybrid TiO2/titanate nanostructures are synthesized by a simple low temperature solvothermal route followed by the Na+/H+ ion-exchange and final calcination process. We investigated the impact of reaction temperature, stirring conditions and cosolvent on the morphologies of the as-prepared nanostructures. Nanotubes and nanorods are formed in alkaline solution, while nanorods/nanowires and nanoporous nanoribbons are formed in alkaline water–ethanol and alkaline water–ethylene glycol mixed solvents, respectively. X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies are employed to identify the structure and phase composition. The formation of different morphologies of the as-synthesized nanostructures is investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The growth mechanism and reaction process of the as-prepared nanostructures are explained based on the experimental observations. The photoluminescence, optical absorption and the tuning of band gap of the prepared samples are also studied. This work will be valuable for understanding the growth mechanism of various nanostructured TiO2 and to explore the commercial applications of nanoporous nanoribbons of TiO2.

► Low temperature growth of 1-D anatase TiO2 and hybrid TiO2/titanate nanostructures.
► Impact of growth temperature, stirring and cosolvents on the evolved nanostructures.
► Growth mechanism of the nanotubes and nanorods explored in details.
► Nanoporous TiO2 nanoribbons grown at 180 °C have important practical applications.