Influence of calcination temperature of TiO2 nanowires via hydrothermal method for photocatalytic degradation

TiO2 nanowires were prepared by hydrothermal method using tetrabutyl titanate as raw material and then calcined at various temperatures. The samples were characterized by Xray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The photocatalytic performance of TiO2 was analyzed by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB). The formation mechanism of TiO2 nanowires was revealed in this study. The results showed that the calcination temperature had a great influence on the crystal structure and morphology of TiO2 nanowires. The TiO2 sample calcined at 650 °C exhibited higher photocatalytic activity due to the enhanced crystallinity and the nanowire structure with large specific surface area. As the calcination temperature exceeded 650 °C, the nanowire structure collapsed, leading to a decrease in the photocatalytic degradation efficiency