Glass fibers templated preparation of TiO2 microtubes assembled from nano/micro hierarchical TiO2 crystals

The unique rutile TiO2 microtubes with the larger specific surface area and the distinct external/internal surface morphology have been fabricated in large-scale by a sol–gel-hydrothermal method via the readily available glass fibers as templates. The crystal phase, morphology and surface area of as-obtained samples were measured by XRD, SEM, TEM and BET. The results indicate that these microtubes with the inner diameter of ca. 8 μm and the wall thickness of 2–3 μm have a novel double-layer structure, which is built from closely associated TiO2 rod arrays and TiO2 gel film. Detailed electric microscopy investigations on such TiO2 rod arrays exhibit that they are mainly constructed by flower-like rod clusters, and each TiO2 rod derives from the assembly of the parallel-growth TiO2 nanowires with the diameter of ca. 10 nm. Such unique hierarchical nano/micro TiO2 structure enhances the specific surface area of these microtubes effectively, which makes them have more potential applications in the fields of catalysis, sensors, and drug delivery.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ Preparation of TiO2 hollow microtubes via glass fibers as template. ▶ The microtubes with the larger specific surface and the novel surface morphology. ▶ The TiO2 crystal rods were derived from the assembly of parallel-arrangement nanowires.