Electrophoretic synthesis of titanium oxide nanotubes

Abstract

In the current research project, sol-gel electrophoresis technique was utilized to grow titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes. A titanium sol was prepared using organometallic precursors of titanium to fill the template channels. The prepared sol was driven into nanopores of porous anodic aluminum oxide templates under the influence of a DC electric field to form nanotubes on the pore walls. Successful deposition on the template pore walls was achieved after broadening the pores through chemical etching using phosphoric acid. The simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) of the samples determined the onset temperature of the anatase TiO2 crystallization. After calcination, the phase structure of the produced nanotubes was evaluated based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray (SEM and EDX) studies showed that TiO2 nanotubes with uniform size and shape have been electrophoretically grown in the aluminum oxide template channels.