Vapor-phase hydrothermal transformation of HTiOF3 intermediates into {001} faceted anatase single-crystalline nanosheets.
For the first time, a facile, one-pot hydrofluoric acid vapor-phase hydrothermal (HF-VPH) method is demonstrated to directly grow single-crystalline anatase TiO(2)  nanosheets with 98.2% of exposed {001} faceted surfaces on the Ti substrate via a distinctive two-stage formation mechanism. The first stage produces a new intermediate crystal (orthorhombic HTiOF(3) ) that is transformed into anatase TiO(2)  nanosheets during the second stage. The findings reveal that the HF-VPH reaction environment is unique and differs remarkably from that of liquid-phase hydrothermal processes. The uniqueness of the HF-VPH conditions can be readily used to effectively control the nanostructure growth.
Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, Queensland 4222, Australia.
Porun
P
Liu
Yun
Y
Wang
Haimin
H
Zhang
Taicheng
T
An
Huagui
H
Yang
Zhiyong
Z
Tang
Weiping
W
Cai
Huijun
H
Zhao