The present invention involves a hydrothermal technique for the synthesis of inorganic oxide nanofibers containing titanium with very high aspect ratio (greater than 200). The fibers have a rectangular cross-section with dimensions of the order of a few tens of nanometers. The composition of the fibers can be varied to certain extent for specific applications.
Though there are similar existing methods for preparing this type of fiber, the current process has a distinct advantage of a shorter processing time (Approx. 2-8 hours compared to 50-120 hours with other methods) with minimal increase in production cost.
A US utility patent application has been filed.