Quantum dynamics simulations of interfacial electron transfer in sensitized TiO2 semiconductors

Ab initio DFT molecular dynamics simulations are combined with quantum dynamics calculations of electronic relaxation to investigate the interfacial electron transfer in catechol/TiO(2)-anatase nanostructures under vacuum conditions. It is found that the primary process in the interfacial electron-transfer dynamics involves an ultrafast (tau(1) approximately 6 fs) electron-injection event that localizes the charge in the Ti(4+) surface ions next to the catechol adsorbate. The primary event is followed by charge delocalization (i.e., carrier diffusion) through the TiO(2)-anatase crystal, an anisotropic diffusional process that can be up to an order of magnitude slower along the [-101] direction than carrier relaxation along the [010] and [101] directions in the anatase crystal. It is shown that both the mechanism of electron injection and the time scales for interfacial electron transfer are quite sensitive to the symmetry of the electronic state initially populated in the adsorbate molecule. The results are particularly relevant to the understanding of surface charge separation in efficient mechanisms of molecular-based photovoltaic devices.     

Mobility enhanced photoactivity in sol-gel grown epitaxial anatase TiO2 films

Epitaxial anatase thin films were grown on single-crystal LaAlO3 substrates by a sol-gel process. The epitaxial relationship between TiO2 and LaAlO3 was found to be [100]TiO2||[100]LaAlO3 and (001)TiO2||(001)LaAlO3 based on X-ray diffraction and a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The epitaxial anatase films show significantly improved photocatalytic properties, compared with polycrystalline anatase film on fused silica substrate. The increase in the photocatalytic activity of epitaxial anatase films is explained by enhanced charge carrier mobility, which is traced to the decreased grain boundary density in the epitaxial anatase film.     

具有高光催化活性的黑色TiO2（B）/锐钛矿双晶TiO2-x纳米纤维

高效TiO2基光催化材料的开发一直是催化领域的研究热点,主要的策略是如何有效地分离光生载流子.制备多晶相的TiO2材料可引入异质/相结结构使电子与空穴朝不同方向移动,从而避免电子与空穴复合;另外,在TiO2中掺杂其他金属或非金属也可以有效地降低电子与空穴的复合率,掺杂的元素作为电子捕获阱俘获光生电子,以实现电子空穴的有效分离.近些年,作为一种全新的掺杂剂,氧空穴可以有效改善TiO2的光催化活性,所制TiO2具有可见光的全光谱吸收能力,因此该类TiO2呈现出黑色.通过上述方法均可以制备出高活性TiO2基光催化材料,如果能够将这些方法耦合一起,则可能制备出活性更高的光催化剂.因此,本文将异相结结构和空穴掺杂耦合起来,用多孔钛酸盐衍生物在H2中高温焙烧制得一种全新的黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x纳米纤维.不同于其他TiO2基光催化材料,该样品仅由Ti和O元素组成,通过Ti和O元素的组合,形成了双晶结构和空穴掺杂两种特殊的结构,借助场发射(FESEM)、拉曼光谱(Raman)、氮气物理吸脱附、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、热重(TG)、紫外可见漫反射光谱(UV-Vis)和荧光光谱(PL)等表征分析了样品的结构及其光催化性能间构效关系. FESEM结果显示,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x为长1–5mm、宽0.2mm的纤维结构, Raman结果表明,锐钛矿相在特征波段(140 cm–1左右)和TiO2(B)的特征波段(220–260 cm–1)均发生蓝移,说明该两相中均存在氧空穴;该样表面未检测到Ti3+,因此氧空穴可能分散在TiO2(B)和锐钛矿相的体相中.根据黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x和白色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2的失重差,估算出前者的O/Ti原子比为1.97.光催化降解甲基橙实验结果显示,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x的光催化活性是白色双晶TiO2的4.2倍,锐钛矿TiO2的10.5倍,且连续反应10次后未出现失活现象,显示出了良好的光催化稳定性.前期,我们已经证明了白色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2由于具有TiO2(B)和锐钛矿的异相结结构,致使其电子空穴有效地分离,从而表现出优异的光催化活性;本文的PL结果显示,由于氧空穴的引入,异相结与氧空穴两者共同作用,进一步促进了黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x电子与空穴的有效分离,因此黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x表现出高的光催化活性.由于其特殊的结构,黑色TiO2(B)/锐钛矿双晶TiO2–x纳米纤维将在环境与能源领域表现出良好的应用前景.     

Acetylacetonate anchors for robust functionalization of TiO2 nanoparticles with Mn(II)-terpyridine complexes

A novel class of derivatized acetylacetonate (acac) linkers for robust functionalization of TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) under aqueous and oxidative conditions is reported. The resulting surface adsorbate anchors are particularly relevant to engineering photocatalytic and photovoltaic devices since they can be applied to attach a broad range of photosensitizers and photocatalytic complexes and are not affected by humidity. Acac is easily modified by CuI-mediated coupling reactions to provide a variety of scaffolds, including substituted terpy complexes (terpy = 2,2':6,2'-terpyridine), assembled with ligands coordinated to transition-metal ions. Since Mn-terpy complexes are known to be effective catalysts for oxidation chemistry, functionalization with Mn(II) is examined. This permits visible-light sensitization of TiO2 nanoparticles due to interfacial electron transfer, as evidenced by UV-vis spectroscopy of colloidal thin films and aqueous suspensions. The underlying ultrafast interfacial electron injection is complete on a subpicosecond time scale, as monitored by optical pump-terahertz probe transient measurements and computer simulations. Time-resolved measurements of the Mn(II) EPR signal at 6 K show that interfacial electron injection induces Mn(II) --> Mn(III) photooxidation, with a half-time for regeneration of the Mn(II) complex of ca. 23 s.     

一种室温下制备多孔锐钛矿型TiO2薄膜的方法

 采用具有锐钛矿晶粒的TiO2溶胶与聚苯乙烯球形粒子混合制得涂膜液,通过浸渍提拉法制备薄膜,然后在超声波振荡条件下,以甲苯为溶剂,将薄膜中的聚苯乙烯球选择性地溶解去除,在室温下获得了锐钛矿型多孔TiO2薄膜. 与致密的TiO2薄膜相比,该多孔TiO2薄膜具有较高的光催化活性. 该方法有以下两方面的优点: 一是实现了多孔TiO2薄膜的室温制备,增大了薄膜基材的选择范围; 二是可以通过添加不同粒径的聚苯乙烯球,较为方便地实现了对薄膜孔径的调节.     

双晶型TiO2薄膜的低温制备及表征

采用溶胶-凝胶法低温制备了具有锐钛矿、板钛矿双晶型的TiO2薄膜. 分别利用X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、UV-Vis透光率曲线和原子力显微镜(AFM)等手段对所得TiO2溶胶和薄膜进行了性能表征. 采用光催化降解罗丹明B水溶液评价TiO2薄膜的光催化活性. 结果发现, 所得TiO2薄膜具有较高的透明度和光催化活性. 同时, 考察了溶胶回流温度对所制备TiO2薄膜性能的影响, 发现升高溶胶回流温度可以完善薄膜的晶型, 增大薄膜的粗糙度, 从而提高薄膜的光催化活性. 溶胶回流温度为100 ℃时所制备的TiO2薄膜具有最高的光催化活性.     

PET表面锐钛矿-板钛矿相TiO2薄膜的制备及表征

利用改进的溶胶-凝胶法在经表面改性的PET(聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯)表面制备得到TiO2薄膜. 利用X射线衍射(XRD)、原子力显微镜(AFM)、UV-Vis 透光率曲线、接触角测试仪等测试手段对TiO2样品的性能进行表征.结果表明, PET表面过渡层的引入有效地改善了有机基底与无机薄膜之间的界面相容性, 在其表面形成透明、均一、附着力良好且具有光催化活性的TiO2薄膜.通过控制实验过程, 在低温下成功制备了不同锐钛矿/板钛矿比的TiO2薄膜,同时发现适量板钛矿相的存在能有效提高薄膜的光致亲水性.     

Effects of electron transfer between TiO2 films and conducting substrates on the photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants

TiO2 films on Al alloy (Al), indium-tin oxide glass (ITO/glass), and glass were prepared by a dip-coating method. ITO is found to have a higher work function, while the work function for Al is lower than that of TiO2 films. An electron transfer is indicated to occur in the interfaces between TiO2 films and conducting substrate Al or ITO, which results in an Ohm contact or Schottky barrier under the transient equilibrium UV radiation conditions. Photocatalytic measurements showed that the TiO2 films on Al have a higher activity for photocatalytic oxidation of C2H4, but the activity for photocatalytic degradation of oleic acid is lower as compared with TiO2 films on glass. Alternatively, TiO2 films on ITO give completely contrary photocatalytic performance to those on Al. These observations could be associated with the electron transfer, in which Al acts as an electron donor and offers electrons to TiO2, allowing photocatalytic oxidation of ethylene to proceed by the photogenerated electrons, while ITO could be an acceptor for the photogenerated electrons, which is beneficial to photocatalytic degradation of oleic acid by the photogenerated holes. This electron-transfer model could be extended to other photocatalytic systems.     

Reactivity of anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles: the role of the minority (001) surface

Methanol adsorption on clean and hydrated anatase TiO(2)(001)-1 x 1 is studied using density functional theory calculations and first principles molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that (i) dissociative adsorption is favored on clean TiO(2)(001) at both low and high methanol coverages; (ii) on the partially hydrated surface, methanol dissociation is not affected by the coadsorbed water and can still occur very easily; (iii) the dissociative adsorption energy of methanol is always larger than that of water under similar conditions. This implies that water replacement by methanol is energetically favored, in agreement with recent experimental observations on colloidal anatase nanoparticles.     

Synthesis of TiO2 photocatalysts with abundant surface defects using a TiO2@NaCl precursor

TiO2 nanoparticles have been synthesized by using a TiO2@NaCl core-shell structure as the precursor. The surface defects were well preserved by the NaCl shell, and therefore high oxygen adsorption capacity was observed. After the NaCl shell was removed, the resulting pure TiO2 nanoparticles were of anatase phase and uniform size of around 20?24 nm. The presence of an abundance of surface defects contributes to the high photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials, and the TiO2 materials obtained from the TiO2@NaCl precursor can be used as efficient photocatalysts for degradation of rhodamine B under UV light irradiation.     

Exciton-coupled charge-transfer dynamics in a porphyrin J-aggregate/TiO(2) complex

Exciton-coupled charge-transfer (CT) dynamics in TiO(2) nanoparticles (NP) sensitized with porphyrin J-aggregates has been studied by femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. J-aggregates of 5,10,15-triphenyl-20-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) porphyrin (TPPcat) form CT complexes on TiO(2) NP surfaces. Catechol-mediated strong CT coupling between J-aggregate and TiO(2) NP facilitates interfacial exciton dissociation for electron injection into the conduction band of the TiO(2) nanoparticle in pulse width limited time (<80 fs). Here, the electron-transfer (<80 fs) process dominates over the intrinsic exciton-relaxation process (J-aggregates: ca. 200 fs) on account of exciton-coupled CT interaction. The parent hole on J-aggregates is delocalized through J-aggregate excitonic coherence. As a result, holes immobilized on J-aggregates are spatially less accessible to electrons injected into TiO(2) , and thus the back electron transfer (BET) process is slower than that of the monomer/TiO(2) system. The J-aggregate/porphyrin system shows exciton spectral and temporal properties for better charge separation in strongly coupled composite systems.     

Adsorption and solar light decomposition of acetone on anatase TiO2 and niobium doped TiO2 thin films

Adsorption and solar light decomposition of acetone was studied on nanostructured anatase TiO2 and Nb-doped TiO2 films made by sol-gel methods (10 and 20 mol % NbO2.5). A detailed characterization of the film materials show that films contain only nanoparticles with the anatase modification with pentavalent Nb oxide dissolved into the anatase structure, which is interpreted as formation of substituted Nb=O clusters in the anatase lattice. The Nb-doped films displayed a slight yellow color and an enhanced the visible light absorption with a red-shift of the optical absorption edge from 394 nm for the pure TiO2 film to 411 nm for 20 mol % NbO2.5. In-situ Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectroscopy shows that acetone adsorbs associatively with eta1-coordination to the surface cations on all films. On Nb-doped TiO2 films, the carbonyl bonding to the surface is stabilized, which is evidenced by a lowering of the nu(C=O) frequency by about 20 cm(-1) to 1672 cm(-1). Upon solar light illumination acetone is readily decomposed on TiO2, and stable surface coordinated intermediates are formed. The decomposition rate is an order of magnitude smaller on the Nb-doped films despite an enhanced visible light absorption in these materials. The quantum yield is determined to be 0.053, 0.004 and 0.002 for the pure, 10% Nb:TiO2, and 20%Nb:TiO2, respectively. Using an interplay between FTIR and DFT calculations we show that the key surface intermediates are bidentate bridged formate and carbonate, and H-bonded bicarbonate, respectively, whose concentration on the surface can be correlated with their heats of formation and bond strength to coordinatively unsaturated surface Ti and Nb atoms at the surface. The oxidation rate of these intermediates is substantially slower than the initial acetone decomposition rate, and limits the total oxidation rate at t>7 min on TiO2, while no decrease of the rate is observed on the Nb-doped films. The rate of degradation of key surface intermediates is different on pure TiO2 and Nb-doped TiO2, but cannot explain the overall lower total oxidation rate for the Nb-doped films. Instead the inferior photocatalytic activity in Nb-doped TiO2 is attributed to an enhanced electron-hole pair recombination rate due to Nb=O cluster and cation vacancy formation.     

Ag(core)-AgCl(shell) standard microelectrode-loaded TiO2

Micrometer-sized Ag(core)-AgCl(shell) composite crystals have been formed on TiO2 thin films by a two-st epelectrochemical method to provide information on the thermodynamic condition for efficient photoinduced interfacial electron transfer.     

Relationship Between Photocatalytic Activity and Structure of TiO2 Thin Film

TiO2 thin films with different crystalline structures were prepared by the CVD method. The relationship between photocatalytic activity of a TiO2 thin film and its crystalline type was investigated. These films were characterized by XRD and AFM. Their photocatalytic properties were tested by the degradation of NO2-. The results showed that the crystalline structures of TiO2 thin films are primary anatase and/or rutile when the preparation temperatures were less than 573 K and higher than 773 K respectively. When the preparation temperature was around 623 K, the structures of TiO2 thin films were mixed crystalline structure, which showed the highest catalytic activity. When the ratio of rutile to anatase in TiO2 thin films fell between 0.5 and 0.7, the highest catalytic activity for the degradation of NO2- was found.     

Photocatalytic activity of structured mesoporous TiO2 materials

Starting from colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles in combination with tetraethyl orthosilicate using neutral Pluronic or cationic cetyltrimethylammonium as templates, a series of structured mesoporous silicas has been obtained. The structure of the mesoporous titania was confirmed by isothermal gas adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The pore diameter ranged between 3.8 and 10.9 nm, and the BET surface area varied from 99 to 584 m2 g(-1). The photocatalytic activity of these samples for the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution has been compared with that of standard P-25 TiO2. Even though the activity of these new mesostructured materials is lower that those found for P-25 TiO2, the turnover frequency of the photocatalytic activity (moles of phenol degraded per Ti atom present at initial reaction time) is much higher for the mesoporous titania, particularly with low titanium contents for those materials (mpTiO2-5 and TiO2SBA15-5).     

Sm掺杂对TiO2薄膜光催化性能的影响

 采用溶胶-凝胶法、浸渍-提拉法制备了不同形式和不同含量Sm掺杂的锐钛矿晶型TiO2的光催化剂薄膜. 采用X射线衍射、UV-Vis光谱及电化学实验对所制得的TiO2光催化剂薄膜进行了表征,并通过甲基橙溶液的光催化降解实验评价了其光催化活性. 结果表明,与未掺杂的TiO2薄膜相比,Sm掺杂的TiO2薄膜的UV-Vis吸收光波长向长波方向移动,并且光照开路电压也相应提高; 适量Sm掺杂可以明显提高TiO2薄膜的光催化活性,最佳Sm掺杂量为x(Sm3+)=0.5%; 在各种掺杂形式中以表层Sm掺杂的Sm-TiO2(S)薄膜的光催化活性最好. 讨论了Sm掺杂提高TiO2薄膜光催化活性的机理.     

Organic photovoltaic devices with colloidal TiO2 nanorods as key functional components

We report on a novel approach to integrate colloidal anatase TiO(2) nanorods as key functional components into polymer bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices by means of mild, all-solution-based processing techniques. The successful integration of colloidal nanoparticles in organic solar cells relies on the ability to remove the long chain insulating ligands, which indeed severely reduces the charge transport. To this aim we have exploited the concomitant mechanisms of UV-light-driven photocatalytic removal of adsorbed capping ligands and hydrophilicization of TiO(2) surfaces in both solid-state and liquid-phase conditions. We have demonstrated the successful integration of the UV-irradiated films and colloidal solutions of TiO(2) nanorods in inverted and conventional solar cell geometries, respectively. The inverted devices show a power conversion efficiency of 2.3% that is a ca. three times improvement over their corresponding cell counterparts incorporating untreated TiO(2), demonstrating the excellent electron-collecting property of the UV-irradiated TiO(2) films. The integration of UV-treated TiO(2) solutions in conventional devices results in doubled power conversion efficiency for the thinner active layer and in maximum power conversion efficiency of 2.8% for 110 nm thick devices. In addition, we have demonstrated, with the support of device characterizations and optical simulations, that the TiO(2) nanocrystal buffer layer acts both as electron-transporting/hole-blocking material and optical spacer.     

Au掺杂方式对锐钛矿TiO2光催化性能的影响

结合超临界乙醇干燥技术, 采用沉积-沉淀(DP)和共沉淀(CP)法分别制备了具有单一锐钛矿晶相的Au/TiO2和Au(0.2%, 原子分数)-TiO2光催化剂, 通过XRD、BET、TEM、XPS和Raman手段表征样品中Au的掺杂形态, 以光催化降解甲基橙为模型反应考察了样品的光催化活性. 结果表明, DP法制备的Au/TiO2在110 ℃干燥处理后, 表面存在的Au3+能有效地促进锐钛矿TiO2光催化性能, 其一级反应速率常数比纯锐钛矿TiO2提高了3.2倍, 比商用光催化剂Degussa-P25提高了4.1倍, 而当Au3+被还原为Au0后光催化活性下降. 用CP法制备的Au-TiO2并没有较大地提高锐钛矿TiO2光催化性能, 在焙烧温度达到800 ℃时, Au向表面迁移聚集, 造成锐钛矿TiO2晶格氧空位和缺陷位增加, 使光催化活性下降.     

玻璃和石英基体上沉积的TiO2薄膜的光催化性能

采用直流磁控反应溅射法,在玻璃和石英基体上制备了TiO2薄膜.在氧气流速超过阈值的条件下溅射,能够得到均匀透明的TiO2薄膜.在玻璃和石英基体上制备的薄膜都由均匀的锐钛矿型氧化钛晶粒组成,在晶粒中间分布着微小的孔隙.尽管在整个光谱区域内石英基体的透射率都比玻璃基体高,但在两种基体上制备的TiO2薄膜的光谱吸收边沿基本相同.薄膜中的Ti都以Ti4 形式存在.两种TiO2薄膜光催化降解甲基橙的能力相差不大.     

氮自掺杂暴露（001）晶面TiO2微米片的可见光光催化CO2还原性能增强

化石能源的使用可产生大量CO2,带来严重的温室效应。光催化CO2还原生产太阳燃料技术既有望缓解温室效应,又可以将低能量密度的太阳能转化为高能量密度的化学能储存起来方便使用。高效光催化材料的开发是发展光催化技术的关键。迄今,在已开发的所有半导体光催化材料中, TiO2仍是广泛研究的明星材料。在实际使用中, TiO2的光催化效率仍受限于其极弱的可见光利用率和较高的电子-空穴复合几率。近年来,越来越多的研究表明TiO2的结构与形貌特征极大地影响其光催化效率。尤其, TiO2的外露晶面设计与晶面效应研究引起了广泛关注。由于具有较高表面能和较多表面不饱和键,起初大多数理论和实验研究认为锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面是光催化活性晶面。后来,越来越多研究表明并非锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面的暴露比例越高其光催化活性就越高。最近,我们发现锐钛矿TiO2(001)晶面与(101)晶面在调控光催化CO2还原性能上具有良好的协同效应。密度泛函理论计算表明,锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的能带结构有差异,(001)晶面的导带位置相对于(101)晶面而言较高,而(101)晶面的价带位置相对于(001)晶面而言较低。基于此我们提出,具有合适比例的锐钛矿TiO2的(001)晶面与(101)晶面的交界处可以形成最佳的表面异质结或晶面异质结。表面异质结的形成导致光生电子倾向于向(101)扩散,光生空穴倾向于向(001)扩散,从而促进光生电子-空穴分离,降低光生电子-空穴复合几率。在此工作基础上,我们直接以氮化钛为原料,氢氟酸为添加剂,通过简单的水热反应一步合成了氮自掺杂的TiO2微米片。利用X射线粉末衍射、扫描电镜、X射线光电子能谱、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、氮气吸附-脱附以及电化学阻抗谱等方法手段对所制备的光催化剂进行了基本结构与理化性质表征分析,并研究了其可见光光催化CO2还原性能。电镜照片结果表明,我们所制备的氮自掺杂锐钛矿TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面比例分别为65%和35%。基于我们前期研究结果, TiO2微米片的(001)晶面与(101)晶面可以形成表面异质结,具有良好的电荷分离效率,这也得到了电化学阻抗谱研究结果的证明。同时,由于N的原位掺杂,所制备的TiO2微米片具有优异的可见光捕获能力。由于可见光利用效率增强与光生电子-空穴分离效率提高这两方面的综合作用,所制备的氮自掺杂TiO2微米片具有非常好的可见光光催化CO2还原制甲醇性能,比商用P25及氮掺杂TiO2纳米粒子等参考样品的可见光光催化性能更优异。研究表明,通过原位自掺杂方法与晶面设计方法相结合,可以同时改善TiO2的可见光利用效率和光生电子-空穴分离效率,优化TiO2的可见光光催化性能,这也为后续开发新型高效光催化材料提供了新思路。