Highly crystalline TiO2 nanostructures were prepared through a
facile inorganic acid-assisted hydrothermal treatment of
hexagonal-structured assemblies of nanocrystalline titiania
templated by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (Hex-ncTiO2/CTAB
Nanoskeleton) as starting materials. All samples were
characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission
electron microscopy (TEM). The influence of hydrochloric acid
concentration on the morphology, crystalline and the formation
of the nanostructures were investigated. We found that the
morphology and crystalline phase strongly depended on the
hydrochloric acid concentrations. More importantly, crystalline
phase was closely related to the morphology of TiO2
nanostructure. Nanoparticles were polycrystalline anatase phase,
and aligned nanorods were single crystalline rutile phase.
Possible formation mechanisms of TiO2 nanostructures with
various crystalline phases and morphologies were proposed.
Keywords:Hydrothermal treatment; Nanocrystalline titania;
Nanoskeleton T