One-step Hydrothermal Synthesis of TiO2 Nanowires and Their Photocatalytic Activities

Titanium dioxide(TiO2) nanowires were synthesized by one-step hydrothermal method using tetrabutyl titanate, isopropanol and sodium hydroxide as starting materials. The synthesized TiO2 nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDX). The effects of reaction temperature, concentration of sodium hydroxide and reaction time on the formation of the nanowires were investigated. It is found that the optimum reaction temperature, concentration of sodium hydroxide and reaction time for the formation of high quality TiO2 nanowires are 180 degrees C, 10 mol/L and 24 h, respectively. The nanowires were still anatase phase even if the calcination temperature increased to 950 degrees C, indicating that the phase transition of TiO2 from anatase to ruffle was delayed. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of pure TiO2, nanowires and TiO2 nanowires doped with Eu were studied under the irradiation of 3C0 W UV-lamp for 60 min, using methyl orange solution as the target degradation material.. The results indicate that the degradation ratio of Eu-doped TiO2 nanowires is 1.5 times that of pure TiO2, nanowires, and the optimum doping amount of Eu is 1.6%.