Synthesis and Characterization of TiO2 Powder by Direct Hydrothermal Processing from Natural Rutile

Abstract

TiO2-based nanomaterials are widely used for pigment and electronics fields, and are recently applied for photocatalysts and dye-sensitized solar cells. Recently, the authors have developed a new direct process to prepare homogeneous titanate and titania nanofibers using natural rutile as a starting material. Since the nanofiber formation and the purification progress in a single-step hydrothermal process, the new process will be more cost-effective and more environmentally friendly than former multi-step processes. In this presentation, processing and some properties of the nanofibers will be reported.