title: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic activity of 1D TiO2 nanostructures.
abstract: Nanowire/nanorod TiO(2) structures of approximately 8 nm in diameter and around 1,000 nm long were synthesized by alkaline hydrothermal treatment of two different TiO(2) nanopowders. The first precursor was TiO(2) obtained by the sol-gel process (SG-TiO(2)); the second was the well-known commercial TiO(2) P-25 (P25-TiO(2)). Anatase-like 1D TiO(2) nanostructures were obtained in both cases. The one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures synthesized from SG-TiO(2) powders turned into rod-like nanostructures after annealing at 400 °C for 2 h. Conversely, the nanostructures synthesized from P25-TiO(2) preserved the tubular structure after annealing, displaying a higher Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area than the first system (279 and 97 m²/g, respectively). Despite the higher surface area shown by the 1D nanostructures, in both cases the photocatalytic activity was lower than for the P25-TiO(2) powder. However, the rod-like nanostructures obtained from SG-TiO(2) displayed slightly higher efficiency than the sol-gel prepared powders. The lower photocatalytic activity of the nanostructures with respect to P-25 can be associated with the lower crystallinity of 1D TiO(2) in both materials.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Perú E-mail: jrodriguez@uni.edu.pe.
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Perú E-mail: jrodriguez@uni.edu.pe.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alarcón
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Perú E-mail: jrodriguez@uni.edu.pe; Instituto Peruano de Energía Nuclear, IPEN, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Alcides
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López
authors.affiliation: INQUIMAE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Candal
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física, UNAM, México D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: Dwight
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Acosta
authors.affiliation: Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Lima, Perú E-mail: jrodriguez@uni.edu.pe.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010782:Photolysis; D011208:Powders; D012235:Rhodamines / Q000737:chemistry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D011208:Powders; D012235:Rhodamines; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium; C029773:rhodamine B