In this study, effects of precursor materials and hydrothermal reaction time on the morphology, microstructures and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) were investigated. Results show that the selection of nanopowder TiO2 precursors and hydrothermal time has significantly affected the morphology, microstructure and photocatalytic property of TiO2 nanotubes. TNTs–Merck was fabricated from TiO2–Merck precursor at 130 °C for 22 h possesses a uniform structure with a range of the diameter of ~ 10 nm and length of ~ 100 nm. | Journal of Science and Technology 54 (4B) (2016) 72-79 EFFECT OF PRECURSOR MATERIALS AND HYDROTHERMAL TIME ON THE MORPHOLOGY, MICROSTRUCTURE AND PHOTOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY OF TiO2 NANOTUBES Thi Ngoc Tu Le1, *, Nu Quynh Trang Ton2, Thi Hanh Thu Vu2 1 Dong Thap University, 783 Pham Huu Lau, Ward 6, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam 2 University of Science, 227 Nguyen Van Cu, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * Email: ltntu@ Received: 15 August 2016 ; Accepted for publication: 10 November 2016 ABSTRACT In this study, effects of precursor materials and hydrothermal reaction time on the morphology, microstructures and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) were investigated. Results show that the selection of nanopowder TiO2 precursors and hydrothermal time has significantly affected the morphology, microstructure and photocatalytic property of TiO2 nanotubes. TNTs–Merck was fabricated from TiO2–Merck precursor at 130 °C for 22 h possesses a uniform structure with a range of the diameter of ~ 10 nm and length of ~ 100 nm. Keywords: TiO2, nanotubes, hydrothermal, precursor, photocatalytic 1. INTRODUCTION TiO2 nanotubes have recently attracted a considerable interest of their photocatalytic properties for environmental cleaning and antibacterial activities. So far, many different methods have been used to fabricate the TiO2 nanotubes including: templating [1], sol-gel [2], electrochemical anodization [3], and hydrothermal synthesis methods [4, 5]. A review of these methods was presented in the report of N. Liu et al. [6]. Hydrothermal method is a simple and environmentally friendly approach to fabricate large scale production of nanotubes with simply, cost-effectively experimental facilities [7]. Moreover, TiO2 nanotubes fabricated by this method possess highly uniform morphology. However, there are many factors that affect the formation Effect of precursor materials and hydrothermal time on the morphology, microstructure of nanotube structures: the .
