Fabrication and photoluminiscent properties of titanium oxide nanotube arrays

An array of vertically aligned titanium oxide nanotubes was successfully grown on the surface of a titanium substrate by the anodization technique. The nanotubes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). The results indicate that the size of the titanium oxide nanotube is greatly dependent on the applied voltage, and its photoluminescence properties are strongly influenced by the crystal structure. In addition, it is shown that quantum size effects are present in the optical properties of TiO2 nanotubes.