Synthesis of titanium dioxide nanotubes from electrospun fiber templates

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes were synthesized by impregnating stabilized electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers with titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) solution and subsequent calcination. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to characterize the structure and composition of the products. The resulting TiO2 nanotubes are of high purity with anatase structure. The average diameter of the nanotubes is 220 nm with very thin walls about 20 nm. The tube walls are composed of many nanoparticles of about 10 nm. Due to the increased surface area and small crystal size, the present TiO2 nanotubes may possess high catalytic properties.