Characterisation of the photocatalyst Pilkington Activ™: a reference film photocatalyst?

Pilkington Glass Activ™ represents a possible suitable successor to P25 TiO₂, especially as a benchmark photocatalyst film for comparing other photocatalyst or PSH self-cleaning films. Activ™ is a glass product with a clear, colourless, effectively invisible, photocatalytic coating of titania that also exhibits PSH. Although not as active as a film of P25 TiO₂, Activ™ vastly superior mechanical stability, very reproducible activity and widespread commercial availability makes it highly attractive as a reference photocatalytic film. The photocatalytic and photo-induced superhydrophilitic (PSH) properties of Activ™ are studied in some detail and the results reported. Thus, the kinetics of stearic acid destruction (a 10⁴ electron process) are zero order over the stearic acid range 4–129 monolayers and exhibit formal quantum efficiencies (FQE) of 0.7×10⁻⁵ and 10.2×10⁻⁵ molecules per photon when irradiated with light of 365±20 and 254 nm, respectively; the latter appears also to be the quantum yield for Activ™ at 254 nm. The kinetics of stearic acid destruction exhibit Langmuir–Hinshelwood-like saturation type kinetics as a function of oxygen partial pressure, with no destruction occurring in the absence of oxygen and the rate of destruction appearing the same in air and oxygen atmospheres. Further kinetic work revealed a Langmuir adsorption type constant for oxygen of 0.45±0.16 kPa⁻¹ and an activation energy of 19±1 kJ mol⁻¹. A study of the PSH properties of Activ™ reveals a high water contact angle (67°) before ultra-bandgap irradiation reduced to 0° after prolonged irradiation. The kinetics of PSH are similar to those reported by others for sol–gel films using a low level of UV light. The kinetics of contact angle recovery in the dark appear monophasic and different to the biphasic kinetics reported recently by others for sol–gel films [J. Phys. Chem. B 107 (2003) 1028]. Overall, Activ™ appears a very suitable reference material for semiconductor film photocatalysis.     

Elasticity in nanocrystalline Nd2Fe14B+αFe magnetic composites

The dynamic Young modulus (E) of magnetic Nd₂Fe₁₄B+αFe nanocomposites is investigated with mechanical spectroscopy techniques (vibrating reed configuration, f≈1.5 kHz <10⁻⁶). Reduced values of E are obtained (88–152 GPa) as compared with that predicted by the rule of mixtures for the composite (164 GPa). Three contributions to this reduction are briefly discussed: a large volume fraction of the specimen with grain boundary like structure; internal pores, resulting from the high cooling rate during processing (10⁶ K/min) and magneto-mechanical effects. Even when porosity is identified as the principal cause of modulus reduction, magnetic effects are also detected.     

Temperature dependence of excitonic luminescence from nanocrystalline ZnO films

The properties of the excitonic luminescence for nanocrystalline ZnO thin films are investigated by using the dependence of excitonic photoluminescence (PL) spectra on temperature. The ZnO thin films are prepared by thermal oxidation of ZnS films prepared by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) technique. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates that ZnO thin films have a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred (0 0 2) orientation. A strong ultraviolet (UV) emission peak at 3.26 eV is observed, while the deep-level emission band is barely observable at room temperature. The strength of the exciton-longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon coupling is deduced from the temperature dependence of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the fundamental excitonic peak, decrease in exciton-longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon coupling strength is due to the quantum confinement effect.     

Strong visible PL from the nc-Si thin film by Ni silicide mediated crystallization

We studied the growth of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin film exhibiting a strong room temperature photoluminescence (PL) at 1.81–2.003 eV. The amorphous silicon was crystallized by Ni silicide mediated crystallization (Ni SMC) and then Secco-etched to exhibit the PL. The PL peak energy and intensity increase with increasing the metal density on the a-Si because of the reduction in the grain size down to 2 nm. The photoluminescence energy and peak intensity depend strongly on the Secco etch time because the grain size is reduced by etching the grain boundaries.     

高介电常数TiO2纳米晶的表面态研究

将钛酸四丁酯和硬脂酸在熔融状态下混合均匀后置于冷水浴中,使其凝固成凝胶,通过控制烧结过程中氧气的含量,成功地制备出粒度均匀、介电性能好的纳米晶TiO2.通过采用X射线光电子能谱和表面光电压谱对纳米晶TiO2表面状态的分析发现,材料表面存在大量的氧空位缺陷,暴露在粒子表面上的主要是一些金属Ti4+.纳米材料的这种表面状态对其极化性质具有重要的影响,使其在接近静态条件下的低频介电常数远大于常规材料的介电常数.     

微波诱导等离子体热解法合成碳膜包裹的TiO2纳米微晶

微波诱导等离子体热解法合成碳膜包裹的ＴｉＯ２纳米微晶刘洪波（广东石油化工高等专科学校广东茂名５２５０００）洪品杰戴树珊（云南大学化学系云南昆明６５００９１）关键词微波诱导等离子体包裹碳膜ＴｉＯ２纳米微晶中图分类号Ｏ６１４．４１１近年来，对碳膜包裹型材...     

Cellulose-precursor synthesis of nanocrystalline Ce<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Gd<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2−δ</Subscript> for SOFC anodes

Developments of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT SOFCs) require novel anode materials with a high electrochemical activity at 800–1070 K. The polarization of cermet anodes, made of nickel, ceria and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and applied onto a YSZ solid electrolyte, can be significantly reduced by catalytically active ceria additions, the relative role of which increases with decreasing temperature. Further improvement is observed when using Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_2– (CGO) having a high oxygen ionic conductivity instead of undoped ceria, owing to enlargement of the electrochemical reaction zone. Nanocrystalline CGO powders with grain sizes of 8–35 nm were thus synthesized via the cellulose-precursor technique and introduced into Ni–CGO–YSZ cermets, and tested in contact with a (La_0.9Sr_0.1)_0.98Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_3– (LSGM) electrolyte at 873–1073 K. The results showed that the anode performance can be enhanced by additional surface activation, in particular by impregnation with a Ce-containing solution, and also by incorporation of YSZ, which probably acts as a cermet-stabilizing component. The overpotential of the surface-modified Ni–CGO (25 wt%–75 wt%) anode in a 10% H₂/90% N₂ atmosphere was approximately 110 mV at 1073 K with a current density of 200 mA/cm².Presented at the OSSEP Workshop Ionic and Mixed Conductors: Methods and Processes, Aveiro, Portugal, 10–12 April 2003     

扫描近场光学显微镜对纳米结构的观察

光学显微镜在人们认识微观世界的过程中一直扮演着非常重要的角色．随着认识的深入，对空间分辨率的要求也越来越高．但是众所周知，普通光学显微镜（远场情况下）的分辨率受光的衍射效应所限制，一般可表达为0．61A／N．A．（约等于A／2，A为照射光的波长，N．A．为数值孔径）     

形态结构和光电特性对纳米TiO2光催化性能的影响

采用sol-gel法制备了系列纳米TiO2光催化剂,运用X射线衍射、BET比表面测定、紫外漫反射吸收光谱和表面光电压谱等手段对催化剂进行表征,并以乙烯作为光催化反应的指标反应分子,研究了TiO2纳米晶的性质对于光催化活性的影响.随着焙烧温度的升高,TiO2的晶粒逐渐增大,比表面积下降,晶相由锐钛矿向金红石转变,其吸收带边与光伏响应阈值向长波方向移动,氧化－还原能力降低,降解乙烯的转化率迅速下降.     

胆红素在纳米TiO2膜上的吸附行为研究

采用石英晶体微天平现场技术,研究了胆红素在纳米TiO2表面的吸附动力学行为,并考察了溶液pH、硅烷亲脂性试剂及金属离子修饰的纳米TiO2对胆红素吸附的影响。结果表明,胆红素在纳米TiO2表面的吸附平衡常数K为2·0×106L/mol;由于亲水性纳米TiO2表面的羟基和胆红素分子中的羧基发生作用,胆红素吸附量随溶液pH增大而增大;但经过硅烷试剂亲脂性修饰后,吸附量随pH增大而下降;经过金属离子修饰后,改变了TiO2表面电荷导致吸附量增加,且吸附量随金属离子电荷增加而增加,当金属离子所带电荷相同时,吸附量基本相同。