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Template-free synthesis of titania architectures with controlled morphology evolution

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Abstract

Template-free synthesis of TiO2 architectures with controlled morphology evolution has been developed through solvothermal reaction in 1,4-dioxane. By simply varying the molar ratio of the concentrated HCl over Titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) from 0 to 5.0, series of morphologies including nanoparticle-built microspheres, nanoparticle-built microspheres decorated with nanorods, nanorod cauliflowers, and nanorod dendrites have been obtained. The influence of several key factors on the morphology control of TiO2 has been systematically investigated. These parameters include the mass (molar) ratio of HCl/TTIP, solvothermal reaction temperature and time, acid species (concentrated nitric acid), and solvent type (tetrahydrofuran and 1,3-dioxane). The mechanism for the formation of the TiO2 architectures with controlled morphology evolution has been discussed. The application of the TiO2 architectures as water splitting photocatalyst and lithium–ion battery anode has been demonstrated. And the corresponding structure–property correlation has been discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This research is funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (51103172), the Zhejiang Non-profit Technology Applied Research Program (2013C33190), the open Project of the Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science (20140138), and Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials. The authors would like to thank Dr. Dingyi Tong for the help with sketch preparation and discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1219 Zhongguan West Rd, Zhenhai District, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315201, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Cheng, Yonggao Xia, Qing Ji, Ying Xiao, Xiaoyan Wang, Meimei Wang, Bao Qiu, Guoxin Chen, Huifeng Chen, Zhaoping Liu & Ya-Jun Cheng

  2. Faculty of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315211, People’s Republic of China

    Ting Cheng, Meimei Wang & Tonghu Xiao

  3. Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, State Key Laboratory of Luminescence & Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 3888 East Nanhu Rd, Changchun, 130033, People’s Republic of China

    Guoqiang Zhang & Zaicheng Sun

  4. State Key Laboratory of Separation Membranes and Membrane Processes, Tianjin Polytechnic University, Tianjin, 300387, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyan Wang & Jian-Qiang Meng

  5. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Materials Chemistry and Applications & PKU-HKU Joint Lab on Rare Earth Materials and Bioinorganic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, People’s Republic of China

    Rui Liu, Ling-Dong Sun & Chun-Hua Yan

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  1. Ting Cheng
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Cheng, T., Zhang, G., Xia, Y. et al. Template-free synthesis of titania architectures with controlled morphology evolution. J Mater Sci 51, 3941–3956 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9713-6

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