TiO2 and titanate semiconductor nanomaterials have attracted tremendous interest due to their exceptional electronic and mechanical properties. In the present work, a titanate nanowire network film was prepared by a combined sol-gel and hydrothermal method. The morphology, chemical composition and photoelectrochemical behavior of the film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical techniques, respectively. The results showed that the titanate film exhibited a special three-dimensional porous structure composed of titanate nanowires. When the 403 stainless steel in a 0.5 M NaCl solution was coupled to the titanate film as a photoanode in a 1.0 M NaOH solution under illumination, its potential decreased by about 570 mV, indicating the film produced a good photocathodic protection effect for the steel. EIS measurements revealed that the charge transfer resistance of the electrochemical reaction process for the steel coupled to the titanate film decreased considerably
