Preparation, characterization, and growth mechanism of a novel aligned nanosquare anatase in large quantities in the presence of TMAOH

Monodispersed and well-aligned samples of TiO2 nanosquares were synthesized in large quantities in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) for the first time. These nanosquares were single crystals characterized by slightly truncated shape bounded by {101} facets. XRD, AFM, FT-IR, Raman scattering, TEM and HRTEM were employed to characterize the as-prepared samples. The possible microreaction mechanism was discussed. As a result, TMAOH accelerates the formation of crystalline anatase and plays a structural template role to modify the particle shape to nanosquare. Moreover, TMAOH reacted with hydrolysates and formed layered structural complex compound.

Graphical abstractThe sol hydrothermally treated at 160 °C for 4 h was investigated by TEM. The anatase nanoparticles with side-length of 10−13 nm10−13 nm are nanosquare-shaped, monodispersed, and aligned in large scales.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide