Flower-like agglomerates with sizes of 200-400 nm of pure and Fe 3+-doped TiO2 with rutile crystalline structure were synthesized by the coprecipitation method. The morphology of the agglomerates was determined by electron microscopy (TEM and HRTEM). TiO2 agglomerates consist of nanorods with clearly visible crystalline faces, parallel to the axis of elongation whose direction was along the [101] direction of pure TiO2 and the [111] direction of doped TiO2. Furthermore, nanorods consist of "chains" of spherical particles, most likely interconnected through the so-called oriented attachment or grain-rotation-induced grain coalescence (GRIGC) process. UV/Vis reflection measurements revealed that the absorption of pure TiO2 was significantly shifted from UV toward the visible spectral region upon the incorporation of Fe3+ into the TiO2 host. © 2009 The American Ceramic Society.

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