The TiO2 sol was prepared hydrothermally in an autoclave from aqueous TiOCl2 solutions as starting precursor. Hollow fibers were obtained when sol-gel derived TiO2 sol was treated chemically with NaOH solution and subsequently heated in autoclave under various conditions. A systematic analysis of the influence of different NaOH concentrations on the formation of nanotubes has been carried out using XRD and SEM. The phase structure of the synthesized material was determined by transmission electron microscopy and found that these materials are, infact, hollow fibers widely known as nanotubes. From the TEM images, the outer and inner diameters of the tubes were measured ca. 8 and about 4 nm, respectively, with several hundred nanometers in length.
Thickness controlled SiO2/TiO2 sol-gel coating by spraying
