Synthesis of Titanium Oxide Nanotubes by the Electrophoresis Method

In this research, titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes have been synthesized by the sol-gel electrophoresis technique. A titanium sol was prepared using organometallic precursors of titanium to fill the template channels. The prepared sol was driven into nanopores of porous anodic aluminum oxide templates under the influence of a DC electric field to form nanotubes on the pore walls. It was observed that tubular growth can occur after chemical etching of the template pores with phosphoric acid. The phase structure of the produced nanotubes, after the firing step, was evaluated based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray (SEM and EDX) studies showed that TiO2 nanotubes with rather uniform size and shape have been electrophoretically grown in the template pores.