A.-M. Lazar, D. Chaumont, Y. Lacroute, M. E. Gómez,, J. C. Caicedo, G. Zambrano, and M. Sacilotti

We present the growth and characterization of TiO2 nanocrystals. Nanostructured growth is obtained in a low-pressure CVD system by using an organometallic precursor Ti(OC3H7)4 as both the Ti and O source catalyzed by both ferrocene (an organometallic precursor) and cobalt metallic clusters prepared by the microwave-assisted polyol method. Two kinds of TiO2 structures were obtained in the cobalt clusters: a) pine-tree like (with short-leaf structure) and b) long-leaf structures as large as a few micrometers in size and both under 10 nm in thickness. Long-leaf TiO2 structures were grown at cobalt grain boundaries. For the growth conditions utilized, the TiO2 structures are composed of both anatase and rutile crystallographic phases.