Three-dimensional and dendritic rutile TiO₂ nanorods were successfully fabricated on a Ti foil surface using a one-step acidic hydrothermal method. The TiO₂ nanorods were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical contact angle testing. The results showed that the nanorods with diameters of 100⁻500 nm and lengths of 100 nm to 1 μm were obtained on the Ti foil surface. The length and density of the TiO₂ nanorods were perfect at the conditions of HCl concentration 0.5 mol/L, temperature 220 °C, and reaction time 12 h. The TiO₂ nanorods formed parallel to the consumption of Ti and grew along the (110) direction having a tetragonal rutile crystal. The morphology of the nanorods possessed a three-dimensional structure. The contact angle of the nanorods was only 13 ± 3.1°. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic activities of the TiO₂ nanorods were carried out using ultraviolet fluorescence spectrophotometry for the methyl orange detection, and the degradation was found to be about 71.00% ± 2.43%. Thus, TiO₂ nanorods can be developed by a one-step acidic hydrothermal method using Ti foil simultaneously as the substrate with a TiO₂ source; the TiO₂ nanorods exhibited photocatalytic performance while being environment-friendly.
Keywords: acidic hydrothermal method; hydrophilicity; nanorods; photocatalysis; titanium dioxide.