Oxide thin films based on ordered arrays of 1D nanostructure.: A possible approach toward bridging material gap in catalysis

TiO2 thin films based on ordered arrays of 1D nanostructures (nanorods, nanotubes) are proposed as suitable model materials in studies for bridging material and complexity gap in catalysis. The samples were prepared by anodic oxidation of Ti foils. By changing the preparation conditions (pH, procedure of application of the potential), different types of ID nanostructure and different characteristics of the ordered array of these ID nanostructures could be obtained. This allows studying the effect of nanodimension and 3D nanoarchitecture on the characteristics and reactivity of these catalysts. It is also shown that TiO2 thin films characterized by a well-ordered array of titania nanorod behave as photonic materials, thus showing unique properties of light harvesting efficiency.