Preparation of {010}-faceted anatase TiO2 nanocuboids from peroxotitanium complex solution

{0 1 0}-faceted anatase TiO2 nanocuboids have been fabricated by hydrothermal route using peroxotitanium complex solution as precursor. The effects of reaction time, the amount of urea and temperature on the formation of {0 1 0}-faceted anatase TiO2 were characterized by XRD, FESEM and TEM. The growth mechanism of nanocuboids was proposed that the nanocuboids were formed by the transition from H2Ti2O5 center dot H2O phase to anatase TiO2 in the basic condition. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared samples was tested in the degradation of Rhodamine B and the anatase nanocuboids exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with the standard P25 powders. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.