Polymer-induced generation of anatase TiO2 hollow nanostructures

In this letter, we presented a polymer-induced generation of anatase TiO2 hollow nanostructures. Amphiphilic polymer PEG-400 was employed for the first time to slow down the hydrolization reaction of potassium titanium oxalate and control over the crystal growth and organization. Hollow spheres with a diameter of around 100 nm were finally obtained and demonstrated good dye-sensitized solar cell performances. The shape evolution of anatase TiO2 nanostructures indicated that the formation mechanism was based on an Ostwald ripening process. We believe this work is a facile synthetic approach to hollow spheres. Besides, it can also give a contribution to the understanding of Ostwald ripening process.