The interactive effect of agitation condition and titania particle size in hydrothermal synthesis of titanate nanostructures

The nucleation and growth mechanisms of hydrothermal synthesized nanotitanates are proposed based on the interaction effect between agitation condition and pristine titania particle size. TEM examination and N2 adsorption measurements revealed distinct morphology and textural properties depending on TiO2 particle size in constant agitation condition. Regarding to the supersaturation degree, heterogeneous nucleation dominates for nanotubes formation from large particle size of raw material. On the other hand, homogeneous nucleation determines nanospheres formation from small particle size of raw material. The nanotubes have an outer diameter ranging from 8 to 10 nm and inner diameter of 2 to 3 nm. The nanospheres have diameters ranging from 50 to 100 nm.