Engineering bamboo-type TiO2 nanotube arrays to enhance their photocatalytic property.

Bamboo-type TiO2 nanotube arrays with high surface area can be synthesized by alternating voltage (AV) anodization for their important use as photocatalytic medium. Their morphologies are highly dependent on preparation parameters including anodization time and electrolyte composition. Minimum time of high-voltage steps required for forming desired bamboo ridge spacing on these nanotubes can be calculated from current-time profiles recorded during potentiostatic anodization at the voltage. Water content in NH4F-containing ethylene glycol (EG) electrolytes is optimized simply from analyses of current transients or current-voltage relations for anodization in EG electrolytes with different amount of water, in order to achieve efficient electrochemical growth of TiO2 nanotubes for large ridge density and long tube length. Two types of bamboo-type TiO2 nanotubes with the same length of 5.46 microm but different ridge spacing are synthesized for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV radiation. Both of the bamboo-type nanotube arrays show improved photo catalysis compared to smooth TiO2 nanotubes of the same length, due to their larger surface area favorable for heterogeneous catalytic processes. In particular, the apparent rate constant of photocatalytic degradation on bamboo-type nanotubes is up to 29.4% higher than that for degradation on smooth ones.