Anatase TiO(2) nanowires were successfully synthesized using a low-temperature hydrothermal treatment on as-prepared one-dimensional (1D) hydrogen titanate nanowires (H(2)Ti(3)O(7)) at 180 degrees C. The anatase TiO(2) nanowires were porous in nature with a high specific surface area. These nanowires were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM, x-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements. The topochemical phase transformation mechanism from H(2)Ti(3)O(7) to anatase TiO(2) is discussed. The porous anatase TiO(2) nanowire electrodes demonstrated an excellent cycling performance and superior rate capabilities compared with the H(2)Ti(3)O(7) nanowires and the anatase TiO(2) nanowires that were prepared through calcination at 700 degrees C. The porous anatase TiO(2) nanowires exhibited a capacity of approximately 145 mA h g(-1) at 1 C after 500 cycles and 115 mA h g(-1) at 20 C. This improvement in the long-term cycle stability and outstanding rate capability was explained by various microscopic observations of the porous 1D nanostructured nature of the nanowires during the Li intercalation/deintercalation cycles.

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The 0D-1D Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) heterogeneous nanostructures were synthesized through the solvothermal reaction using lithium hydroxide monohydrate (Li(OH)·H2O) and protonated trititanate (H2Ti3O7) nanowires as the templates in an ethanol/water mixed solvent with subsequent heat treatment. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) were used to reveal that the Li4Ti5O12 powders had 0D-1D heterogeneous nanostructures with nanoparticles (0D) on the surface of wires (1D). The composition of the mixed solvents and the volume ratio of ethanol modulated the primary particle size of the Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles. The Li4Ti5O12 heterogeneous nanostructures exhibited good capacity retention of 125 mAh/g after 500 cycles at 1C and a superior high-rate performance of 114 mAh/g at 20C.

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A SrTiO 3 hetero-nanostructure was synthesized via solvothermal reaction using a protonated trititanate nanowire (H 2 Ti 3 O 7 ) and strontium hydroxide octahydrate (Sr(OH) 2 ·8H 2 O) in an ethanol/water mixed solvent system. The ethanol to deionized water volume ratio was the controlling parameters for determining the phase formation and the particle size of the SrTiO 3 nanocrystals. Single-phase cubic perovskite SrTiO 3 began to form at 120°C in a mixed solvent containing >40% ethanol by volume. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) showed that the as-prepared SrTiO 3 retained its wire-like (1D) morphology with nanocrystals (0D) on the surface. The synthetic mechanism of the 0D-1D SrTiO 3 hetero-nanostructures was demonstrated by topochemical reaction from dielectric tuning of the mixed solvent and the correlation between the crystal structures of SrTiO 3 and H 2 Ti 3 O 7 . Using as-prepared SrTiO 3 nanowires, the photocatalytic activity for the degradation of a rhodamine B dye solution was evaluated under UV irradiation and compared to SrTiO 3 powder from solid state reaction.