The multi-staged formation process of titanium oxide nanotubes and its thermal stability

The multi-staged formation process of titanium oxide nanotubes was investigated in detail under a hydrothermal treatment. During the synthesis procedure, an intermediate stage (tree-like structures) was observed before the formation of the titanium oxide layered structures. The layered structure of titanium oxide generally was considered to exfoliate directly from raw TiO₂ materials through the alkaline hydrothermal treatment. The rolling process of the layered structures of titanium oxide was confirmed by TEM observation after the alkaline hydrothermal treatment for the raw TiO₂ materials, followed by washing with 4 M HNO₃ aqueous solution. The thermal stability of the tube products was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The result showed that both the morphology and crystal phase of titanium oxide nanotubes could be retained even after calcination at 650 °C.