Synthesis and characterization of anatase and rutile TiO2 nanorods by template-assisted method

Well-aligned anatase and rutile TiO2 nanorods and nanotubes with a diameter of about 80–130 nm have successfully been fabricated via sol-gel template method. The prepared samples were characterized by using thermogravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The XRD results indicated that the TiO2 nanorods were crystallized in the anatase and rutile phases, after annealing at 400–800 C for different periods of time from 0.2 to 10 h.