Preparation of aligned titania nanowires with an aligned carbon nanotube composite template

Abstract

A new kind of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube (AMWCNT)/hydrogel composite template was prepared through a simple polymerization process. A shell of hydrogel with a thickness of up to tens of nanometers was uniformly coated on single nanotube of AMWCNT. The hydrogel shell can swell a great deal of reagents in aqueous or alcohol solution for further chemical reactions on the surface of the AMWCNTs. The AMWCNTs coated with titania nanoparticles were prepared with this template and aligned titania nanowires with lengths up to a few millimeters were obtained after calcinations. This new composite template also provides an efficient route to modify aligned carbon nanotubes with inorganic species.