Morphology controllable synthesis of TiO2 by a facile hydrothermal process

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were prepared via a facile hydrothermal approach with titanium tetrabutoxide as a precursor under strongly acidic condition. The transmission electron microscopy results showed that novel flower-like, leaf-like, and rod-like TiO₂ nanoscale materials could be easily obtained by tailoring the concentration of the precursor and the reaction temperature. And the analysis from X-ray diffraction revealed that all the as-prepared products under different experimental conditions possessed a mixed crystal phase of anatase and rutile. The reasons for the phase formation were discussed. Larger proportion of rutile phase should be ascribed to the strongly acidic conditions. The growth mechanisms of TiO₂ nanostructures with various morphologies were also proposed.