Abstract
TiO 2 nanowires were fabricated by annealing TiO 2 nanoparticles on silicon substrate at 1000 °C in air. When a polystyrene nanosphere monolayer was used as a template to separate the TiO 2 nanoparticles, they could more easily react with the silicon substrate to form Ti 5 Si 3 . The TiO 2 nanowires were formed upon further oxidation of Ti 5 Si 3 . The diameters and lengths of TiO 2 nanowires were 30-80nm and 1-3νm, respectively. The nanowires had a rutile structure with the growth direction [112]. It is believed that the formation of TiO 2 nanowires involved a precipitation process in the mixture of SiO 2 and TiO 2 . The nanowires show different photoluminescence behavior from that of the powder. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.