Rapid synthesis of TiO₂ hollow nanostructures with crystallized walls by using CuO as template and microwave heating

In this paper, TiO₂ hollow nanostructures with anatase walls have been rapidly fabricated by using CuO as template and microwave heating. These TiO₂ hollow nanostructures have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Experimental results showed that the TiO₂ shell transformed from amorphous to anatase phase in 3min, induced by the hot CuO core under microwave irradiation. The diameter of TiO₂ hollow nanostructures is about 50–80nm, and the length is about 200–300nm. The thickness of the shell is about 3nm. This method is promising to be used to synthesize other nanomaterials with a hollow nanostructure.