Close-packed nano-TiO2 anatase microspheres synthesis and their luminescent properties

Anatase microspheres composed of close-packed TiO2 nanoparticles were obtained hydrothermally in the presence of the surfactant 1-hexadecanamine (C16H33NH2). A probable mechanism was proposed. The resulted composite material shows a novel room temperature photoluminescence, which confirms the fact that this process could be employed to produce nanoparticles exhibiting unique optical properties of theoretical as well as practical interest.