Highly Crystalline, Idiomorphic Na2Ti6O13 Whiskers Grown from a NaCl Flux at a Relatively Low Temperature

Well-developed, highly crystalline Na2Ti6O13 whiskers were successfully grown by cooling a NaCl flux at a relatively low temperature of 700 degrees C. The obtained Na2Ti6O13 whiskers were colorless and transparent. The whiskers grown at 700 degrees C were single phase and exhibit the lowest sizes of up to about 3,5 mu m x 0.1 mu m. From the results of SEM, XRD, and TEM, it was confirmed that the Na2Ti6O13 whiskers have very good crystallinity and elongated in the < 010 > directions. Furthermore, the whiskers exhibited good photocatalytic activity under ultraviolet light irradiation. It is reasonable to suppose that NaCl can be adequately used to synthesize high quality and well-developed titanate whiskers in an environmentally friendly process of crystal growth.