This document summarizes research on flower-like titanium oxide nanostructures for splitting water. The unusual structure is formed by chemically treating titanium metal wires to form an oxide material, which cracks and opens during growth due to volume expansion. This creates a 'flower-like' structure with a high surface-to-volume ratio. The tailored titanium oxide has potential for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen as a renewable fuel source.

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Flower-like titanium oxide nanostructures split water
Panagiotis Mougoyannis, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Vana Adamaki, Department of Mechanical Engineering
This unusual structure is formed by a chemical treatment of titanium metal wires to form a titanium oxide material.
The volume expansion during growth of the oxide and the resulting increase in wire radius leads to the formation of
a ‘flower–like’ structure as the oxide cracks and opens up during growth.
By chemically treating titanium wires in this way it is possible to create large areas of fine scale titanium oxide
with tailored electrical and chemical properties. The structure you can see in this image also provides a high
surface-to-volume ratio. A material with this unique combination of properties is of interest for splitting water into
hydrogen and oxygen as a form of fuel to satisfy our primary goal for low-cost, abundant and renewable forms
of energy.
© Professor Chris Bowen, Department of Mechanical Engineering