TiO2 nanostructures prepared by ferrocene/cobalt catalyst agents

We present the growth and characterization of TiO2 nanocrystals. Nanostructured growth is obtained in a low‐pressure CVD system by using an organometallic precursor Ti(OC3H7)4 as both the Ti and O source catalyzed by both ferrocene (an organometallic precursor) and cobalt metallic clusters prepared by the microwave‐assisted polyol method. Two kinds of TiO2 structures were obtained in the cobalt clusters: a) pine‐tree like (with short‐leaf structure) and b) long‐leaf structures as large as a few micrometers in size and both under 10 nm in thickness. Long‐leaf TiO2 structures were grown at cobalt grain boundaries. For the growth conditions utilized, the TiO2 structures are composed of both anatase and rutile crystallographic phases. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)