Synthesis of TiO2 Nanotube Arrays by Sonication Aided Anodization and Its Application for Hydrogen Generation from Aqueous Glycerol Solution

Abstract

The sonication aided anodization in the TiO2 Nanotube Arrays (TNTA) formation and its performance for photocatalytic hydrogen generation from glycerol–water solution (10 v%) has been examined. TNTA were prepared by anodization of Ti foil at 30 V, 50 oC with glycerol containing fluoride as an electrolyte solution. The anatase phase was obtained by annealing of amorphous TNTA at 500 oC under H2 in Ar atmosphere for 3 h. TNTA have average tube’s lengths and inner diameter approximately in the range of 0.5-1.5 μm and 70-84 nm respectively, and a comparable tube wall thickness of 14-20 nm was also observed. The elemental composition of TNTA observed are Ti, O, C, N, and F. In the range of 10 – 60 min anodization process, it was found that the average inner diameters and length of the tubes increase as anodization time increased. The photocatalytic H2 generation test indicated that H2 produced was found to depend on the tube dimension. Among the TNTA obtained, TNTA-U60 with 1.46 µm tube length showed the highest hydrogen production (47,22 mmol/m2 photocatalyst).