Synthesis of anatase TiO2 nanotubes derived from a natural leucoxene mineral by the hydrothermal method

Abstract Anatase TiO 2 nanotubes were synthesized from a natural leucoxene mineral by the hydrothermal method at 105 °C over a period of 24 h. The prepared samples were calcined at various temperatures from 100 to 1000 °C in air for 2 h. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis to determine the specific surface area. The XRD patterns revealed that the as-synthesized samples were titanate (H 2 Ti 3 O 7 ) nanotubes. The as-synthesized samples calcined at 400 °C showed anatase TiO 2 with inner and outer diameters of ~6 nm and 16 nm, respectively, and lengths in the range of 20–100 nm. The BET surface area of the anatase TiO 2 nanotubes was ~82.98 m 2 /g. The photocatalytic activity of the anatase TiO 2 nanotubes was observed to be higher than that of commercial anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles (JRC-01).