Abstract
Crystalline tungsten oxide hydrate (WO3 center dot 1/3H(2)O) nanorods have been prepared by a hydrothermal process using Na2WO4 center dot 2H(2)O and 4-phenylbutylamine as a structure-directing agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy and thermal analysis techniques have been used to characterize the structure, morphology and composition of the nanorods. The WO3 center dot 1/3H(2)O nanorods are up to several hundred nanometers in length, and the widths and thicknesses are 40 and 8 nm, respectively. A study of the electric properties in the temperature range 170-730 degrees C and frequency range 5-13 MHz is reported. The obtained results show that the activation energies are about 0.07, 0.63 and 2.46 eV for o-WO3 center dot 1/3H(2)O, h-WO3 and m-WO3, respectively. The as-synthesized materials are promising for chemical and energy-related applications such as catalysts and electrochemical devices, and may be applied in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.