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Morphological Control and Hydrophilic Properties of TiO2 Nanorod/Nanotube Films by Hydrothermal Method

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Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods/nanotubes grown directly on titanium (Ti) foil were synthesized in different media by the hydrothermal method. In an acid hydrothermal medium, TiO2 nanorod films were easy to obtain. However, the samples tended to form nanotube films in alkaline medium. After ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for 10 min, the contact angle of the TiO2 nanorod film decreased from 8.5° to 2.1°, indicating that the sample possesses excellent superhydrophilic properties. It is worth noting that TiO2 nanotube films exhibited remarkable superhydrophilic properties (contact angle ≤ 1°) even without UV irradiation, which can be attributed to their unique morphology and composition. In addition, Ti foil itself had good flexibility, and the hydrophilic materials prepared with Ti foil as the substrate will show a wider range of applications, such as microfluidic technology.

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Data Availability

All data reported in this study are available upon request by contact with the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation (18JCYBJC87600).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Yuhao Xing, Lei E, Yanan Chen, Dan Zhao, Ying Chang, Jingze Wang & Mengyao Zhu

  2. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Building Green Functional Materials, Tianjin Chengjian University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Lei E, Yanan Chen & Dan Zhao

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  1. Yuhao Xing
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  2. Lei E
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  3. Yanan Chen
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  4. Dan Zhao
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Contributions

YX, EL, and YC conceived and coordinated the study. YX, EL, DZ, YC, JW, and MZ carried out experimental work and data analysis. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. YX, EL, and YC wrote the manuscript with the contributions of all co-authors.

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Correspondence to Lei E.

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Xing, Y., E, L., Chen, Y. et al. Morphological Control and Hydrophilic Properties of TiO2 Nanorod/Nanotube Films by Hydrothermal Method. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 4565–4579 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-09693-6

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