Structure of Exfoliated Titanate Nanosheets Determined by Atomic Pair Distribution Function Analysis

Colloidal suspension of titanate nanosheets has been prepared by exfoliation of Cs0.67Ti1.83O4 through the intercalation of tetrabutylammonium (TBA). The atomic scale structure of the nanosheets has been determined using X-ray diffraction and the atomic pair distribution function (PDF) technique. The exfoliated titanate nanosheets have been found to be an irregular assembly of double layers of Ti-O6 octahedra accommodating water and TBA molecules in the interlayer space. The interlayer distances show a wide distribution ranging from 9 to at least 18 A. The separation between the titanate layers remains nearly the same in air-dried product of the colloidal suspension.