Stereospecific growth of densely populated rutile mesoporous TiO ₂ nanoplate films: A facile low temperature chemical synthesis approach

We report for the first time, using a simple and environmentally benign chemical method, the low temperature synthesis of densely populated upright-standing rutile TiO₂ nanoplate films onto a glass substrate from a mixture of titanium trichloride, hydrogen peroxide and thiourea in triply distilled water. The rutile TiO₂ nanoplate films (the phase is confirmed from x-ray diffraction analysis, selected area electron diffraction, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis, and Raman shift) are 20-35nm wide and 100-120nm long. The chemical reaction kinetics for the growth of these upright-standing TiO₂ nanoplate films is also interpreted. Films of TiO₂ nanoplates are optically transparent in the visible region with a sharp absorption edge close to 350nm, confirming an indirect band gap energy of 3.12eV. The Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area, Barret-Joyner-Halenda pore volume and pore diameter, obtained from N₂ physisorption studies, are 82m²g^{- 1}, 0.0964cm³g^-1 and 3.5nm, respectively, confirming the mesoporosity of scratched rutile TiO₂ nanoplate powder that would be ideal for the direct fabrication of nanoscaled devices including upcoming dye-sensitized solar cells and gas sensors.