I am using HCl, DI water and Titanium butoxide as the growth solution in a ratio of 1:1:0.03. the final volume of the mixture is (12mL) which is transferred to a 25ml autoclave with the FTO (and some bare silicon pieces) placed in an angle against the wall of the teflon, making the conductive side facing down. I have heated it up to 150, 175, 195 degree for 18 hours. I have obtained TiO2 nanoflower on the silicon samples (which they were just falling off the substrates from the solution) but no growth of any nanorods on FTO.
There are many published paper which have grown TiO2 Nanords using this approach, some papers are attached.
Could you please tell what am I doing wrong experimentally?
I think you should pay more attention to the pre-treatment of the substrate. As mentioned in the 4th literature, the substrate was ultrasonically cleaned sequentially in acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and deionized (DI) water for 15 min each and was finally dried under N2 flow.
The Purity, pH and the pretreatment always the keys.
The crystal structure can be changed easily according to the purity of the raw materials.
I assume you have cleaned your Si or FTO well.. Decrease your reaction time. 18hrs is too high I think. Initially try for 2-8hrs reaction then check if same happens.When you increase the time you allow particle to aggregate.
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