Synthesis and field emission properties of rutile TiO2 nanowires arrays grown directly on a Ti metal self-source substrate.

Large-area and uniform quasi-aligned titanium oxide (TiO2) nanowire arrays have been produced in situ on a titanium (Ti) foil by a simple high-temperature oxidation process with acetone as the oxidant. The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The TiO2 nanowires have a rutile single-crystalline structure. The typical diameters range from 20 to 50 nm and lengths are up to a few micrometers. Since the Ti foil serves as both the source of Ti and substrate, direct synthesis and assembly of TiO2 nanowire arrays on a conductive Ti substrate is accomplished in a single step. Consequently, good intrinsic adhesion and electrical contact are achieved naturally between the nanowires and metal substrate. Such TiO2 nanowire arrays exhibit good field emission properties with a low turn-on field of 4.1 V/microm boding well for applications in vacuum microelectronics.