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Growth of rutile TiO2 nanorods on anatase TiO2 thin films on Si-based substrates

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Abstract

Synthesis of titania (TiO2) nanorods on various substrates has recently attracted attention for energy and environmental applications. Herein, we report growth of nanostructured TiO2 on Si(111) and glass borosilicate substrates by a two-step method. A thin film of anatase TiO2 was first laid down by spin coating and annealing, followed by the growth of rutile TiO2 nanorods with a hydrothermal method. To understand the role of the polycrystalline anatase TiO2 seed layer, we selected a relatively high temperature for the hydrothermal reaction, e.g., 175 °C at which no rutile TiO2 nanorods could grow without the precoated anatase TiO2 layer. The morphology and microstructure of both the polycrystalline anatase and rutile nanorod layers were characterized by electron microscopy and x-ray powder diffraction. Such a two-step fabrication method makes it possible to grow TiO2 nanorods on almost any substrate.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by a Northwestern University’s Initiative for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern seed grant and U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357 (Institute for Catalysis in Energy Processes). The electron microscopy work was performed in the Electron probe instrumentation center facility of NUANCE Center (supported by NSF Nanoscale Science & Engineering Center, NSF Materials Research Science & Engineering Center, Keck Foundation, the State of Illinois) at Northwestern University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evansto, Illinois, 60208, USA

    Jinsong Wu, Shihhan Lo & Vinayak P. Dravid

  2. The Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental Center, Northwestern University, Evansto, Illinois, 60208, USA

    Jinsong Wu, Kai Song, Wenyun Li & Vinayak P. Dravid

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evansto, Illinois, 60208, USA

    Baiju K. Vijayan & Kimberly A. Gray

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  1. Jinsong Wu
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  2. Shihhan Lo
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  3. Kai Song
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  4. Baiju K. Vijayan
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  5. Wenyun Li
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  7. Vinayak P. Dravid
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Correspondence to Jinsong Wu.

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Wu, J., Lo, S., Song, K. et al. Growth of rutile TiO2 nanorods on anatase TiO2 thin films on Si-based substrates. Journal of Materials Research 26, 1646–1652 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.190

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2011.190

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