Synthesis of anatase TiO(2) nanoshuttles by self-sacrificing of titanate nanowires.

Anatase TiO(2) nanoshuttles have been successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method under alkaline conditions by employing titanate nanowires as the self-sacrificing precursors. The experimental results showed that a radical structural rearrangement took place from titanate wires to anatase TiO(2) shuttles during the hydrothermal reaction on the basis of a dissolution-recrystallization process. The surface of titanate nanowires plays a key role in the transformation process by providing both the structural units (e.g., TiO(6) octahedra) to realize anatase transformation and locations for the deposition and rearrangement of the dissolved structural units, while the formation of shuttle morphology is attributed to the minimization of surface energy with thermodynamically stable (101) facets of anatase TiO(2). The shape and phase transformation process were foundto be dependent on the hydrothermal reaction time. Raman and photoluminescence spectra confirmed the crystalline nature of the TiO(2) nanoshuttles.