An aqueous, alkaline route to titanate nanotubes under atmospheric pressure conditions

A significant reduction in the temperature for alkaline synthesis of titanate nanotubes is reported. Nanotubular titanates have been synthesized from TiO2 at 100 degrees C in a mixture of concentrated, aqueous solutions of KOH and NaOH. After 48 h of refluxing, essentially complete conversion was achieved. For a given temperature, the composition of KOH and NaOH in the binary mixture was chosen to achieve a particular concentration of Ti(IV), which favoured the formation of nanotubes. The morphology, surface area and crystal structure of the titanate nanotubes produced were similar to those produced in a solution of pure NaOH at a higher temperature (approximate to 140 degrees C).