Preparation of 3D network Na2Ti2O4(OH)2 nanotube film and study on formation mechanism of nanotubes and light absorption properties.

The 3D network Na2Ti2O4(OH)2 nanotube film was prepared by combining interface chemical reaction with hydrothermal reaction. It can be readily indexed based on an orthorhombic system Na2Ti2O4(OH)2 (JCPDS, 47-0124), corresponding with (200), (110), (600), and (020). The nanotubes are commonly multiwalled with a diameter about 40 nm, and a length more than 2000 nm. The interlamellar space of the nanotubes is about 0.9 nm, and these nanotubes loaded with silver exhibit a strong UV-Vis-NIR absorption from 200 nm to 1000 nm, with a resonance-absorption peak at 490 nm. In addition, the formation mechanism of 3D network Na2Ti2O4(OH)2 nanotube film was investigated, the formation mechanism can be expressed as follows: Ti --> TiCl3 --> TiO2(anatase) --> Na2Ti2O4(OH)2(nanotube).