Growth of titanium dioxide nanopetals induced by single wall carbon nanohorns

A novel titanium dioxide architecture, called titanium dioxide nanopetals, was obtained through two sequential vapour techniques, metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) and magnetron sputtering on a single wall carbon nanohorn (SWCNH) bed, resulting in a surprising synergistic effect. The new composite material was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The particular experimental conditions under which this unusual growth was obtained are discussed in detail. The photocatalytic degradation of phenol under UV light irradiation demonstrated that this novel material exhibited a significant increase of photoactivity in comparison with the titanium dioxide thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and the SWCNHs coated with titanium dioxide by MOCVD.