Synthetic Architectures of TiO2/H2Ti5O11•H2O,ZnO/H2Ti5O11•H2O,ZnO/TiO2/H2Ti5O11•H2O, and ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites

Although synthetic investigations of inorganic nanomaterials had been carried out extensively over the past decade, few of them have been devoted to fabrication of complex nanostructures that comprise multicomponents/phases (i.e., composite nanobuilding blocks), especially in the area of structural/ morphological architecture. In this work, nanobelts of a protonated pentatitanate (H2Ti5O11.H2O) were synthesized hydrothermally for the first time. Two technologically important transition-metal-oxides TiO2 and ZnO were then grown respectively or sequentially onto the surface of the as-prepared nanobelts in aqueous mediums. With a main emphasis on organizational manipulation, the present investigation examines general issues of morphological complexity, synthetic interconvertibility, and material combinability related to fabrication of inorganic nanocomposites. Using this model material system, we demonstrate that complex binary and tertiary composite building blocks of TiO2/H2Ti5O11.H2O, ZnO/H2Ti5O11.H2O, ZnO/TiO2/H2Ti5O11.H2O, and ZnO/TiO2 can be architected stepwise in solution. Structural features of these nanocomposites have also been addressed.