Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Applications of Titanium Oxide Nanotubes

Abstract

An explanation of the new synthesizing method for mono-dispersed titanium oxide nanotubes (TNT) is provided. By using the latest transmission electron microscopy method, the electric structure, crystal structure, and morphology of the TNT were analyzed. As a practical application, we studied the properties of TNT as the light electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells and photo-catalysts in visible light. For DSC, light electrodes using nano-whiskers that were made from heat-treated TNT indicated high light harvest efficiency. Furthermore, we found that TNT has a high surface area and due to its interlayer structure which can insert hetero-atoms, N-doped TNT indicates high photo-catalysis in the visible light region.