Modelling the Height of Hydrothermally Synthesized Titanium Dioxide Nanostructures

Bacterial infection is a widespread concern for the medical community. With the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria strains, research has begun to focus on developing bactericidal surfaces as a method of infection control, to reduce society’s dependence on antibiotics. Previous work in this area has established hydrothermal synthesis as an effective method of fabricating bactericidal titanium dioxide nanostructures, with structure height statistically correlated to bactericidal efficiency. This study investigates the effect of NaOH concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 nanostructures. Various TiO2 nanostructured surfaces, morphologies and dimensions were achieved by altering hydrothermal process conditions. This data was used to develop 3 models to predict nanostructure height, as a function of hydrothermal fabrication conditions. The three models are qualitatively validated using statistical data. These models provide a preliminary basis of modelling TiO2 nanostructure growth during hydrothermal synthesis. The findings of this study are significant for the designing of nanostructured surfaces for antibacterial applications, and users of the hydrothermal method for effective and efficient nanostructure fabrication.