The formation of TiO_2 nanowires directly from nanoparticles

摘要

TiO_2 nanowires were fabricated by annealing TiO_2 nanoparticles on silicon substrate at 1000 °C in air. When a polystyrene nanosphere monolayer was used as a template to separate the TiO_2 nanoparticles, they could more easily react with the silicon substrate to form Ti_5Si_3. The TiO_2 nanowires were formed upon further oxidation of Ti_5Si_3. The diameters and lengths of TiO_2 nanowires were 30-80 nm and 1-3 μm, respectively. The nanowires had a rutile structure with the growth direction [112]. It is believed that the formation of TiO_2 nanowires involved a precipitation process in the mixture of SiO_2 and TiO_2. The nanowires show different photoluminescence behavior from that of the powder.