Structure and properties of polymer modified TiO2 pillared montmorillonite

With the aim of improving the microstructures and properties of TiO₂ pillared montmorillonite (MMT), a long-chain polymer (polyoxypropylenediamine, PPO-D 2000) was used as a template to synthesize composite pillared MMT. The materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer, Fourier Raman (FT-Raman) spectrophotometer, thermo-gravimeter/differential thermogravimeter (TG/DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) methods. The results show that as compared to low-molecular weight surfactant, this polymer significantly expanded the interlayer spacing and thus more TiO₂ could be intercalated into MMT. The specific surface area of polymer/TiO₂ pillared MMT was increased by 13% with comparison to TiO₂ pillared MMT and rose to 241.52 m²/g. Both the pore diameter and volume are doubled, and thus the pore structure is optimized markedly. The investigation on the photo-catalytic degradation of methyl orange in aqueous solution show that the modulation of polymer molecules raise the adsorption content of montmorillonite and improve the photo-catalytic activity. Therefore, this process provides a novel alternative to design and prepare the advanced eco-catalytic materials with high adsorption capacity and photo-catalytic activity. __________ Translated from Huaxue Tongbao, 2007, 12: 936–941 [译自: 化学通报]     

球形TiO2-Al2O3的制备、结构和理化性能研究

将Ti(SO₄)₂溶于稀盐酸合成酸性钛溶胶，再将其与铝溶胶和六次甲基四胺溶液混合后采用油柱成型法制备了球形TiO₂-Al₂O₃复合氧化物。通过XRD、低温氮吸附-脱附与NH₃-TPD等手段对样品进行表征，结果表明600 ℃焙烧得到的球形TiO₂-Al₂O₃中TiO₂以无定型形式存在;随TiO₂含量的增加，球形TiO₂-Al₂O₃的比表面积、孔容和平均孔径呈增加趋势;TiO₂的引入没有对球形TiO₂-Al₂O₃的强酸和弱酸中心的强度产生影响，弱酸中心数量显著增加，强酸中心数量稍有增加;球形TiO₂-Al₂O₃的堆密度和压碎强度随TiO₂含量的增加而减小，颗粒直径基本保持不变。     

DFT Study of Methylene Blue Adsorption on ZnTiO3 and TiO2 Surfaces (101)

The search for alternative materials with high dye adsorption capacity, such as methylene blue (MB), remains the focus of current studies. This computational study focuses on oxides ZnTiO₃ and TiO₂ (anatase phase) and on their adsorptive properties. Computational calculations based on DFT methods were performed using the Viena Ab initio Simulation Package (VASP) code to study the electronic properties of these oxides. The bandgap energy values calculated by the Hubbard U (GGA + U) method for ZnTiO₃ and TiO₂ were 3.17 and 3.21 eV, respectively, which are consistent with the experimental data. The most favorable orientation of the MB adsorbed on the surface (101) of both oxides is semi-perpendicular. Stronger adsorption was observed on the ZnTiO₃ surface (−282.05 kJ/mol) than on TiO₂ (–10.95 kJ/mol). Anchoring of the MB molecule on both surfaces was carried out by means of two protons in a bidentate chelating (BC) adsorption model. The high adsorption energy of the MB dye on the ZnTiO₃ surface shows the potential value of using this mixed oxide as a dye adsorbent for several technological and environmental applications.     

Self-assembly of TiO2/polypyrrole nanocomposite ultrathin films and application for an NH3 gas sensor

TiO₂/polypyrrole (PPy) nanocomposite ultrathin films for NH₃ gas detection were fabricated by the in situ self-assembly technique. The films were characterized by UV–Vis absorption, FT–IR spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electrical properties of TiO₂/PPy ultrathin film NH₃ gas sensors, such as sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility, and stability were investigated at room temperature in air as well as in N₂. The results showed that the optimum gas-sensing characteristics of TiO₂/PPy ultrathin film were obtained in the presence of 0.1?wt% colloidal TiO₂ for 20-min deposition. Compared with pure PPy thin-film sensors, the TiO₂/PPy film gas sensor has a shorter response/recovery time. It was also found that both humidity and temperature had an effect on the operation of the TiO₂/PPy film gas sensor at low NH₃ concentrations.     

Characterization of an all Sol-Gel Electrochromic Device WO3/Ormolyte/CeO2-TiO2

Electrochemical lithium intercalation in thin films of CeO₂-TiO₂ and WO₃, prepared by the sol-gel technique was investigated with cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemical techniques in propylene carbonate solutions. A solid state system having the configuration WO₃/Ormolyte/CeO₂-TiO₂ has been assembled. The solid electrolyte, an organically modified electrolyte (ormolyte), was prepared with different [O]/[Li] ratios. The transmittance variation of this system during a potentiostatic step from –0.7 V to 0.8 V was about 35% at 550 nm.     

Structure of TiO2 in TiO2-SiO2 prepared by a complexing agent-assisted sol-gel procedure

Many types of TiO₂-SiO₂ (Ti:Si=50:50 mol%) were prepared by the sol-gel procedure with and without 2-methyl-2, 4-pentanediol (MPD) as an organic ligand. The effect of MPD on the gel structure and the properties of the TiO₂ crystals were studied by XRD and raman spectroscopy, and the effect of the sol standing time on the properties of the TiO₂ crystals were also studied by XRD spectroscopy. In the gels with MPD, anatase of TiO₂ appeared at approximately 580°C, and the crystal structures were similar despite the difference in the gel preparation procedure. The titania gels with MPD were presumed to be dispersed in the silica gel matrix without any Ti-O-Si bond. In the presence of MPD, the formation of titania gels is controlled and the specified TiO₂ crystal is produced.     

Comparison of CO2 Reduction Performance with NH3 and H2O between Cu/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2

The aim of this study is to clarify the effect of doped metal type on CO₂ reduction characteristics of TiO₂ with NH₃ and H₂O. Cu and Pd have been selected as dopants for TiO₂. In addition, the impact of molar ratio of CO₂ to reductants NH₃ and H₂O has been investigated. A TiO₂ photocatalyst was prepared by a sol-gel and dip-coating process, and then doped with Cu or Pd fine particles by using the pulse arc plasma gun method. The prepared Cu/TiO₂ film and Pd/TiO₂ film were characterized by SEM, EPMA, TEM, STEM, EDX, EDS and EELS. This study also has investigated the performance of CO₂ reduction under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with or without ultraviolet (UV) light. As a result, it is revealed that the CO₂ reduction performance with Cu/TiO₂ under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO₂/NH₃/H₂O = 1:1:1 while that without UV light is the highest when the molar ratio of CO₂/NH₃/H₂O = 1:0.5:0.5. It is revealed that the CO₂ reduction performance of Pd/TiO₂ is the highest for the molar ratio of CO₂/NH₃/H₂O = 1:1:1 no matter the used Xe lamp was with or without UV light. The molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO₂ produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp with UV light was 10.2 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO₂ was 5.5 μmol/g. Meanwhile, the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst for Cu/TiO₂ produced under the illumination condition of Xe lamp without UV light was 2.5 μmol/g, while that for Pd/TiO₂ was 3.5 μmol/g. This study has concluded that Cu/TiO₂ is superior to Pd/TiO₂ from the viewpoint of the molar quantity of CO per unit weight of photocatalyst as well as the quantum efficiency.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of 2-arylbenzothiazoles catalyzed by H3PO4/TiO2-ZrO2 (1/1) under solvent-free conditions

A highly efficient and simple protocol for the preparation of 2-arylbenzothiazoles through condensation of 2-aminothiophenol and different aldehydes in the presence of H₃PO₄/TiO₂-ZrO₂(1/1)-cetyl pyridinium bromide (CPB) is described. The reaction proceeded under mild and solvent-free conditions to afford 2-arylbenzothiazole derivatives. In this method, the title compounds were obtained in good to excellent yields and short reaction times. The structures of synthesized products were identified by infrared, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and mass spectroscopy.     

Photocatalytic Activity of High Aspect Ratio TiO2 Nanorods

In this article, TiO₂ nanorods (aspect ratio >20) were prepared through a polyol process and doped with metal ions (Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺, and Cr³⁺). Compared with TiO₂ nanoparticles, the TiO₂ nanorods displayed relatively higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of copper sulfophthalocyanine. Moreover, the photocatalytic activity was greatly enhanced when the metal ions were doped in the TiO₂ nanorods.     

改性二氧化钛纳米棒的制备及光催化有机污染物研究

为了改善纳米二氧化钛的光催化活性,通过水热法制备了氮钨共掺杂二氧化钛纳米棒。通过扫描电镜(SEM),X射线衍射(XRD),透射电镜(TEM),X射线光电子能谱(XPS)和紫外可见光吸收光谱 (UV-VIS)等对产物进行了相关表征。结果显示：与未掺杂的二氧化钛相比,氮钨共掺杂的二氧化钛纳米棒在可见光区域显示出了较强的光催化活性。因为氮钨阳离子的掺入拓宽了可见光的吸收区域。     

Magnetic,Electronic, and Optical Studies of Gd-Doped WO3: A First Principle Study

Tungsten trioxide (WO₃) is mainly studied as an electrochromic material and received attention due to N-type oxide-based semiconductors. The magnetic, structural, and optical behavior of pristine WO₃ and gadolinium (Gd)-doped WO₃ are being investigated using density functional theory. For exchange-correlation potential energy, generalized gradient approximation (GGA+U) is used in our calculations, where U is the Hubbard potential. The estimated bandgap of pure WO₃ is 2.5 eV. After the doping of Gd, some states cross the Fermi level, and WO₃ acts as a degenerate semiconductor with a 2 eV bandgap. Spin-polarized calculations show that the system is antiferromagnetic in its ground state. The WO₃ material is a semiconductor, as there is a bandgap of 2.5 eV between the valence and conduction bands. The Gd-doped WO₃’s band structure shows few states across the Fermi level, which means that the material is metal or semimetal. After the doping of Gd, WO₃ becomes the degenerate semiconductor with a bandgap of 2 eV. The energy difference between ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) configurations is negative, so the Gd-doped WO₃ system is AFM. The pure WO₃ is nonmagnetic, where the magnetic moment in the system after doping Gd is 9.5599575 μB.     

Ti3+自掺杂的TiO2(A)/TiO2(R)/In2O3纳米异质结的制备与可见光催化性能

以TiCl₃和InCl₃为Ti源和In源,在不使用还原剂的条件下,首先通过液相沉淀反应制备前驱体沉淀,然后采用后续水热处理制备Ti³⁺自掺杂的TiO₂(A)/TiO₂(R)/In₂O₃纳米异质结,考察了水热处理温度对材料结构和性能的影响。利用X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、X射线光电子能谱和紫外-可见漫反射光谱对样品进行表征。分别以罗丹明B和苯酚溶液为模拟废水评价了样品的可见光催化降解性能。结果表明,与纯的TiO₂、In₂O₃以及Ti³⁺自掺杂的TiO₂相比,Ti³⁺自掺杂的TiO₂(A)/TiO₂(R)/In₂O₃纳米异质结在可见光区有明显的吸收,并具有良好的可见光催化降解性能,200℃下水热处理24 h所得样品光催化降解罗丹明B的反应速率常数(0.0444 min^-1)分别是纯TiO₂和In₂O₃的17.76倍和8.71倍。瞬态光电流时间响应结果表明样品的光催化性能主要来源于TiO₂(A)/TiO₂(R)/In₂O₃纳米异质结导致的提高的光生电子和空穴分离效率。     

Thermally effected structural and surface transformations of sulfated TiO2, ZrO2 and TiO2-ZrO2 catalysts

Preparations were characterized by specific surface area, thermogravimetry, and X-ray diffractometry. Thermal effects observed were (a) sulfur loss, (b) sintering, (c) crystallization and transformation of the crystalline phase(s). Thermoanalytical curves indicate that decomposition of the sulfate occurs in two distinct steps. Decrease of surface area due to (b) and (c) is concomitant to decomposition of sulfate. Sulfate was found to hinder sintering, crystallization and phase transformations of ZrO₂ and TiO₂. In low-titania and -zirconia sulfated TiO₂-ZrO₂ the minor component enhances the effect of sulfate. In equimolar TiO₂-ZrO₂ sulfate decomposition is accompanied by rapid formation of crystalline TiZrO₄.This work was supported by the MOL Rt., Hungary, which is gratefully acknowledged.     

Boron and nitrogen-codoped TiO2 nanorods: Synthesis, characterization, and photoelectrochemical properties

Boron and nitrogen codoped TiO₂ nanorods (BNTRs) were synthesized via two-step hydrothermal reactions using TiN as a starting material. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The results showed that TiO₂ nanorods with the diameter of approximately 50–100 nm and the length of several micrometers were doped by the interstitial N and B. The nanorods were firstly formed in the hydrothermal synthesis of nitrogen doped TiO₂. The growing process of nanorods was observed by SEM and a most probable formation mechanism of the trititanate nanorods was proposed. The BNTRs showed a higher photocatalytic activity and a bigger photocurrent response than N–TiO₂ nanorods under visible light irradiation.     

二维/一维BiOBr0.5Cl0.5/WO3 S型异质结助力光催化CO2还原

S型异质结不但可以提高载流子的分离效率,还可以维持较强的氧化还原能力。因此,构建S型异质是提高光催化二氧化碳还原反应的有效途径。本研究通过静电自组装法构建了具有近红外光响应(> 780 nm)的二维BiOBr_0.5Cl_0.5纳米片和一维WO₃纳米棒S型异质结光催化剂,并用于高效还原二氧化碳。能带位置和界面电子相互作用的综合分析表明：在光催化二氧化碳还原反应过程中,BiOBr_0.5Cl_0.5/WO₃遵循S型电子转移路径;不仅提高了载流子的高效分离,还维持了两相(BiOBr_0.5Cl_0.5和WO₃)较高的氧化还原能力。此外,二维纳米片/一维纳米棒的结构使得半导体之间具备良好的界面接触,有利于载流子的分离,且暴露更多的活性位点,最终提高催化效率。结果显示,BiOBr_0.5Cl_0.5/WO₃异质结催化剂表现出较高的CO₂还原能力和CO选择性,CO的产率高达16.68 μmol∙g^-1∙h^-1,分别是BiOBr_0.5Cl_0.5的1.7倍和WO₃的9.8倍。本工作为构建S型二维/一维异质结光催化剂高效还原二氧化碳提供了新的思路。     

Acetone vapor sensing properties of screen printed WO3 thick films

This paper presents acetone vapor sensing properties of WO₃ thick films. In this work, the WO₃ thick films were prepared by standard screen-printing method. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The acetone vapor sensing properties of these thick films were investigated at different operating temperature and acetone vapor concentrations. The WO₃ thick films exhibit excellent acetone vapor sensing properties with the maximum sensitivity ∼456% at 300 °C in air atmosphere with fast response and recovery time.     

Synthesis and characterization of MgF2 and KMgF3 nanorods

MgF₂ nanorods with diameters of 60-100 nm were synthesized by a microemulsion method. Subsequent hydrothermal reaction of as-synthesized MgF₂ nanorods and KF at 240°C for 3 days or 140°C for 7 days resulted in KMgF₃ nanorods, which retained the rod-like morphology of the source material MgF₂ in the reaction process. The morphology of as-synthesized MgF₂ strongly depended on the molar ratio between water and the surfactant CTAB and the concentration of CTAB.     

Pyropheophorbide-a/(001) TiO2 Nanocomposites with Enhanced Charge Separation and O2 Adsorption for High-Efficiency Visible-Light Degradation of Ametryn

It is highly desired to enhance charge separation and O₂ adsorption of the pyropheophorbide-a (Ppa) to promote visible-light activity and stability. Herein, Ppa modified 001-facet-exposed TiO₂ nanosheets (Ppa/001T) nanocomposites with different weight ratios were fabricated via the self-assembly approach by OH induced. Compared with the bare Ppa, the 8% amount optimized 8Ppa/001T sample displayed 41-fold enhanced activity for degradation of Ametryn (AME) under visible-light irradiation. The promoted photoactivities could be attributed to the accelerated charge carrier’s separation by coupling TiO₂ as thermodynamic platform for accepting the photoelectrons with high energy from Ppa and the promoted O₂ adsorption because of the residual fluoride on TiO₂. As for this, a distinctive two radicals (•O₂⁻ and •OH) involved pathway of AME degradation is carried out, which is different from the radical pathway dominated by •O₂⁻ for the bare Ppa. This work is of utmost importance since it gives us detailed information regarding the charge carrier’s separation and the impact of the radical pathway that will pave a new approach toward the design of high activity visible-light driven photocatalysts.     

WS2/CuGa2O4复合材料的制备及其气敏性

采用共沉淀法制备了CuGa₂O₄纳米材料,并利用水热法制备了一系列WS₂/CuGa₂O₄复合材料。结合X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等对制备的材料进行了物相组成、表面形貌以及元素价态的分析。研究了WS₂的复合量对CuGa₂O₄材料检测乙醇气体敏感性能的影响。实验结果表明,当WS₂与CuGa₂O₄质量比为1%时,该复合材料制备的传感器在室温下对100μL·L^-1乙醇气体表现出345.3的灵敏度,响应时间和恢复时间分别为184和69 s,且最低检测限为0.1μL·L^-1。     

WS2/CuGa2O4复合材料的制备及其气敏性

采用共沉淀法制备了CuGa₂O₄纳米材料,并利用水热法制备了一系列WS₂/CuGa₂O₄复合材料。结合X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)等对制备的材料进行了物相组成、表面形貌以及元素价态的分析。研究了WS₂的复合量对 CuGa₂O₄材料检测乙醇气体敏感性能的影响。实验结果表明,当 WS₂与 CuGa₂O₄质量比为 1%时,该复合材料制备的传感器在室温下对 100 μL·L^-1乙醇气体表现出 345.3 的灵敏度,响应时间和恢复时间分别为 184 和 69 s,且最低检测限为 0.1μL·L^-1。