Growth Mechanism of Highly Branched Titanium Dioxide Nanowires via Oriented Attachment

Understanding fundamental crystal nucleation and growth mechanisms is critical for producing materials with controlled size and morphological features and uncovering structure-function relationships in these semiconducting oxides. Under hydro-solvothermal conditions, uniform branched and spherulitic TiO2 rutile nanostructures were formed via (101) twins. On the basis of detailed, high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses, we propose a mechanism of branched growth and the (101) twin formation via oriented attachment and subsequent transformation from anatase to rutile.