Surfactant free single step synthesis of TiO2 3-D microflowers by hydrothermal route and its photoelectrochemical characterizations

Rutile titanium dioxide microflowers have been grown by a surfactant free, simple and cost-effective hydrothermal technique onto the conducting glass substrates. To study the effect of reaction time on the deposition of TiO2, the reaction time has been varied from 1 h to 5 h and growth mechanism of microflowers with respect to reaction time has been discussed systematically. X-ray Diffraction patterns show the formation of polycrystalline TiO2 with the tetragonal crystal structure possessing rutile phase. Scanning Electron Microscope images reveal the formation of hierarchical densely packed microflowers at the reaction time of 3 h. The deposited samples have been characterized for their photoelectrochemical performance and the maximum J(sc) of 246 mu A/cm(2) and V-oc of 565 mV have been obtained for sample prepared by reaction time of 3 h. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.