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Oriented crystal growth model explains the formation of titania nanotubes
Akos Kukovecz1, Mária Hodos, Endre Horváth
1Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Rerrich B. tér 1., Szeged, Hungary.
Abstract:
We discuss the formation mechanism of titania nanotubes synthesized by the hydrothermal method. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of TEM, HRTEM, FT-Raman, and N(2) adsorption data, we point out some major shortcomings of the currently accepted trititanate sheet rollup mechanism. We suggest that a novel formation mechanism, oriented nanotube crystal growth from nanoloop seeds, can explain the experimental findings better than the ones proposed so far.
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