Effect of Chemical Polishing on the Formation of TiO Nanotube Arrays Using Ti Mesh as a Raw Material.

As a unique form of TiO, TiO nanotube arrays (TiONTAs) have been widely used. TiONTAs are usually prepared by Ti foil, with little research reporting its preparation by Ti mesh. In this paper, TiONTAs are prepared on a Ti mesh surface via an anodic oxidation method in the F-containing electrolyte. The optimal parameters for the synthesis of TiONTAs are as follows: the solvent is ethylene glycol and water; the electrolyte is NHF (0.175 mol/L); the voltage is 20 V; and the anodic oxidation time is 40 min without chemical polishing. However, there is a strange phenomenon where the nanotube arrays grow only at the intersection of Ti wires, which may be caused by chemical polishing, and the other areas, where TiONTAs cannot be observed on the surface of Ti mesh, are covered by a dense TiO film. New impurities (the hydrate of TiO or other products) introduced by chemical polishing and attaching to the surface of the Ti mesh reduce the current of anodic oxidation and further inhibit the growth of TiO nanotubes. Hence, under laboratory conditions, for commercially well-preserved Ti mesh, there is no necessity for chemical polishing. The formation of TiONTAs includes growth and crystallization processes. For the growth process, F ions corrode the dense TiO film on the surface of Ti mesh to form soluble complexes ([TiF]), and the tiny pores remain on the surface of Ti mesh. Given the basic photoelectrochemical measurements, TiONTAs without chemical polishing have better properties.