Facile route for synthesis of TiO2 nanorod arrays by high-temperature calcinations

• A facile and large-scale synthesis method to fabricate TiO2 nanorod arrays was developed.
• The growth process of TiO2 nanorods at different temperatures was systematically investigated.
• The obtained TiO2 nanorods showed a mainly rutile phase.
• The co-existence of water and alkali were found to play important roles in the growth of TiO2 nanorods.

A novel method to fabricate TiO2 nanorod arrays on a flat Ti foil substrate was developed. High density titania nanorods had been produced via sintering NaOH solution coated Ti foil at 800 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and infrared spectrum (FTIR) were applied to characterize the obtained products. The titania nanorod arrays showed a mainly rutile phase with approximately 500 nm in width, and 5 μm in thickness. The growth process of TiO2 nanorod arrays at different temperature was systematically investigated. Meanwhile, the effect of surface wetness on the structure of titania nanorod arrays was also studied. It was found that the co-existence of water and alkali played important roles in the growth of titania nanorod arrays.

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