Hierarchical fibrous titanium metal derived from cellulose substance

Abstract

We have developed an approach to duplicate the structure of a natural cellulose substance (commercial laboratory filter paper) with titanium metal. A nanometer precise anatase titania replica of filter paper was converted into alpha phase (hcp) titanium by a calciothermic reduction process using calcium chloride as a molten salt. The resulting fibrous titanium metal consists of hierarchical structured fine titanium fibres as duplicates of the cellulose fibres of the initial filter paper.