Preparation of TiO2 nanorod arrays by electrophoretic deposition of titania nanoparticles

The TiO2 nanorod arrays were fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of the 4.5 and 7 nm-sized anatase titania nanoparticles using the anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) as the template. Each of the TiO2 nanoparticle was plus-charged by adjusting the pH of the electrolyte. The growth rate of TiO2 nanorod arrays with this new method was dramatically higher than that of the arrays obtained from the conventional EPD method employing sol-gel solutions. In addition, the robust anatase-phase TiO2 nanorod arrays were obtained without post-thermal treatment. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that the titania nanoparticles were tightly interconnected to form the highly uniform and well-organized TiO2 nanorod arrays. The diameter of the TiO2 nanorod arrays was 55 similar to 58 nm with the length of 15 mu m, which corresponded to the size of AAO templates.