Synthesis of nanowire TiO2 thin films by hydrothermal treatment and their photoelectrochemical properties

Nanowire TiO2 thin films were successfully prepared on Ti metal substrates by hydrothermal treatment of calcined Ti foils in 10 M NaOH. The nanowire TiO2 thin films exhibited much larger surface area and higher photoelectrochemical performance than the TiO2 thin films prepared on Ti metal substrates by the calcination of Ti foil. These nanowire films were shown to act as an efficient photoanodes for the photoelectrochemical water splitting reaction.