Study of phase transformation and crystal structure for 1D carbon-modified titania ribbons

One-dimensional hydrogen titanate ribbons were successfully prepared with hydrothermal reaction in a highly basic solution. A series of one-dimensional carbon-modified TiO2 ribbons were prepared via calcination of the mixture of hydrogen titanate ribbons and sucrose solution under N2 flow at different temperatures. The phase transformation process of hydrogen titanate ribbons was investigated by in-situ X-ray diffraction at various temperatures. Besides, one-dimensional carbon-modified TiO2 ribbons calcined at different temperatures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption isotherms, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and so on. Carbon-modified TiO2 ribbons showed one-dimensional ribbon crystal structure and various crystal phases of TiO2. After being modified with carbon, a layer of uniform carbon film was coated on the surface of TiO2 ribbons, which improved their adsorption capacity for methyl orange as a model organic pollutant. One-dimensional carbon-modified TiO2 ribbons also exhibited enhanced visible-light absorbance with the increase of calcination temperatures.