Enhanced photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nano-structured thin film with a silver hierarchical configuration

TiO₂ sol-gels with various Ag/TiO₂ molar ratios from 0 to 0.9% were used to fabricate silver-modified nano-structured TiO₂ thin films using a layer-by-layer dip-coating (LLDC) technique. This technique allows obtaining TiO₂ nano-structured thin films with a silver hierarchical configuration. The coating of pure TiO₂ sol-gel and Ag-modified sol-gel was marked as T and A, respectively. According to the coating order and the nature of the TiO₂ sol-gel, four types of the TiO₂ thin films were constructed, and marked as AT (bottom layer was Ag modified, surface layer was pure TiO₂), TA (bottom layer was pure TiO₂, surface layer was Ag modified), TT (pure TiO₂ thin film) and AA (TiO₂ thin film was uniformly Ag modified). These thin films were characterized by means of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and transient photocurrent (I_ph). LSV confirmed the existence of Ag⁰ state in the TiO₂ thin film. SEM and XRD experiments indicated that the sizes of the TiO₂ nanoparticles of the resulting films were in the order of TT > AT > TA > AA, suggesting the gradient Ag distribution in the films. The SEM and XRD results also confirmed that Ag had an inhibition effect on the size growth of anatase nanoparticles. Photocatalytic activities of the resulting thin films were also evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation process of methyl orange. The preliminary results demonstrated the sequence of the photocatalytic activity of the resulting films was AT > TA > AA > TT. This suggested that the silver hierarchical configuration can be used to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ thin film.     

Enhanced cyclability of CdS/TiO2 photocatalyst by stable interface structure

CdS nanoparticles were in situ deposited on TiO₂ nanosheets and nanorods under hydrothermal conditions, respectively. The effect of CdS–TiO₂ interface structure on hydrogen production activity was mainly investigated under visible light irradiation. The results showed that the TiO₂ nanosheet-based CdS/TiO₂ showed a higher activity and a higher cyclability than the nanorod-based sample due to the stronger interaction of CdS with the (0 0 1) facets of TiO₂ than with the (1 0 1) facets. It was proposed that the strong interaction between CdS nanoparticles and TiO₂ nanosheets effectively refrains the recombination of electrons and holes.     

Preparation and tribological properties of stearic acid-modified hierarchical anatase TiO2 microcrystals

Hierarchical TiO₂ microcrystals were synthesized through a facile solvothermal method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements were used to characterize the structure of the as-prepared samples. The results indicated that the synthesized hierarchical titania (TiO₂) microspheres were composed of numerous anatase phase TiO₂ particles. The as-prepared samples were chemically modified with stearic acid to improve their dispersion in oil. Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) were carried out to evaluate the characteristics of the modified TiO₂ microcrystals. The tribological properties of the modified TiO₂ microcrystals as additives of liquid paraffin were studied by a four-ball tester, and the results showed that they could significantly improve anti-wear performance, friction-reduction property and load-carrying capacity of liquid paraffin. These advantages make the modified TiO₂ microcrystals promising for green lubricating oil additives.     

Optical and hydrophilic properties of Cr doped TiO2-SiO2 nanostructure thin film

Cr doped TiO₂-SiO₂ nanostructure thin film on glass substrates was prepared by a sol-gel dip coating process. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the structural and chemical properties of the films. A UV-vis spectrophotometer was used to measure the transmittance spectra of the thin film. The hydrophilicity of the thin film during irradiation and storage in a dark place was measured by a contact angle analyzer. The results indicated that Cr doping has a significant effect on the transmittance and super-hydrophilicity of TiO₂-SiO₂ thin film.     

Preparation and photoelectrochemical performance of Ag/graphene/TiO2 composite film

By dipping-lifting in sol-gel solution and reducing process, the graphene/TiO₂ composite film on the glass plate was first prepared. Then, the Ag/graphene/TiO₂ composite film was fabricated by interface reaction with AgNO₃ and N₂H₄·H₂O on the surface of graphene/TiO₂ composite film. The characterization results show that the uniform porous TiO₂ film is made up of the anatase crystal, and the Ag/graphene/TiO₂ composite film is constructed by doping or depositing graphene sheets and Ag nanoparticles on the surface of TiO₂ film. The photoelectrochemical measurement results indicate that the Ag/graphene/TiO₂ composite film has an excellent photoelectrochemical conversion property.     

Crystallisation of TiO2 thin films induced by excimer laser irradiation

Titanium dioxide thin films have been deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on glass substrate and subsequently irradiated by UV radiation using a KrF excimer laser. In this work, we have study the influence of the laser fluence (F) ranging between 0.05 and 0.40 mJ/cm² on the constitution and microstructure of the deposited films. Irradiated thin films are characterized by profilometry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. As deposited films are amorphous, while irradiated films present an anatase structure. The crystallinity of the films strongly varies as a function of F with maximum for F = 0.125 J/cm². In addition to the modification of their constitution, the irradiated areas present a strongly modified microstructure with appearance of nanoscale features. The physico-chemical mechanisms of these structural modifications are discussed based on the theory of nucleation.     

Preparation and photo-induced superhydrophilicity of composite TiO2-SiO2-In2O3 thin film

In this work, TiO₂-SiO₂-In₂O₃ composite thin films on glass substrates were prepared by the sol-gel dip coating process. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to evaluate the structural and chemical properties of the films. UV-vis spectrophotometer was used to measure the transmittance spectra of thin films. The water contact angle (WCA) of thin films during UV/vis irradiation and storage in a dark place was measured by a contact angle analyzer. The results indicated that fabrication of composite film has a significant effect on transmittance and superhydrophilicity of TiO₂ films.     

Synthesis and characterization of TiO2/Fe2O3 core-shell nanocomposition film and their photoelectrochemical property

TiO₂/Fe₂O₃ core-shell nanocomposition film has been fabricated via two-step method. TiO₂ nanorod arrays are synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method, and followed by Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles deposited on TiO₂ nanorod arrays through an ordinary chemical bath deposition. The phase structures, morphologies, particle size, chemical compositions of the composites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometer. The results confirm that Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles of mean size ca. 10 nm coated on the surface of TiO2 NRs. After depositing Fe₂O₃, UV-vis absorption property is induces the shift to the visible-light range, the annealing temperature of 600 °C is the best condition for UV-vis absorption property of TiO₂/Fe₂O₃ nanocomposite film, and increasing Fe content, optical activity are enhanced one by one. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of the as-prepared composite nanorods are determined by measuring the photo-generated currents under illumination of UV-vis light. The TiO₂ NRs modified by Fe₂O₃ show the photocurrent value of 1.36 mA/cm² at 0 V vs Ag/AgCl, which is higher than those of unmodified TiO₂ NRs.     

Catalytic growth of TiO2 nanowires from a TiN thin film

We report in this work synthesis of TiO₂ nanowires from a TiN thin film overlayed with nickel. The nanowires have been analyzed with EELS, XPS, XRD and HRTEM. It has been shown that the nanowires are single-crystalline and of the rutile structure. The growth mechanism has been studied, allowing to determine in which process conditions synthesis of nanowires occurs and to propose a growth scenario.     

Fabrication, characterization and photoelectrochemical properties of Fe2O3 modified TiO2 nanotube arrays

TiO₂ nanotube (NT) arrays modified by Fe₂O₃ with high sensibility in the visible spectrum were first prepared by annealing anodic titania NTs pre-loaded with Fe(OH)₃ which was uniformly clung to the titania NTs using sequential chemical bath deposition (S-CBD). The photoelectrochemical performances of the as-prepared composite nanotubes were determined by measuring the photo-generated currents and voltages under illumination of UV-vis light. The titania NTs modified by Fe₂O₃ showed higher photopotential and photocurrent values than those of unmodified titania NTs. The enhanced photoelectrochemical behaviors can be attributed to the modified Fe₂O₃ which increases the probability of charge-carrier separation and extends the range of the TiO₂ photoresponse from ultraviolet (UV) to visible region due to the low band gap of 2.2 eV of Fe₂O₃.     

Bi2MoO6纳米片/TiO2纳米棒阵列复合材料的制备及其可见光响应光电催化性能研究

Novel Bi₂MoO₆/TiO₂ heterojunction was fabricated by growing Bi₂MoO₆ nanosheets arrays on the vertically aligned TiO₂ nanorods arrays via a two-step solvothermal method. The obtained Bi₂MoO₆/TiO₂ hierarchical heterojunction showed excellent visible light photoelectrochemical performance. Compared with the pure TiO₂ and Bi₂MoO₆, the photocurrent density of the heterojunction was increased 57 and 29 times, respectively. Furthermore, the hydrogen generation rate of the Bi₂MoO₆/TiO₂ for photoelectrocatalytic water-splitting was about 6 times higher than that of the pure Bi₂MoO₆. The improved performance can be attributed to the synergistic effects of enhanced absorption of visible light, increase of migration rate and separation efficiency of photo-induced carriers.     

Optical properties of ITO/TiO2 single and double layer thin films deposited by RPLAD

Indium tin oxide (ITO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) single layer and double layer ITO/TiO₂ films were prepared using reactive pulsed laser ablation deposition (RPLAD) with an ArF excimer laser for applications in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The films were deposited on SiO₂ substrates either at room temperatures (RT) or heated to 200-400 °C. Under optimized conditions, transmission of ITO films in the visible (vis) range was above 89% for films produced at RT and 93% for the ones deposited at higher temperatures. Increasing the substrate temperature from RT to 400 °C enhances the transmission of TiO₂ films in the vis-NIR from about 70% to 92%. High transmission (≈90%) was observed for the double layer ITO/TiO₂ with a transmission cut-off above 900 nm. From the transmission data, the energies gaps (E_g), as well as the refractive indexes (n) for the films were estimated. n ≈ 2.03 and 2.04, respectively for ITO films and TiO₂ film deposited at 400 °C in the visible region. Post-annealing of the TiO₂ films for 3 h at 300 and 500 °C was performed to enhance n. The refractive index of the TiO₂ films increases with the post-annealing temperature. The direct band gap is 3.6, 3.74 and 3.82 eV for ITO films deposited at RT, 200, and 400 °C, respectively. The TiO₂ films present a direct band gap of 3.51 and 3.37 eV for as deposited TiO₂ films and when annealed at 400 °C, respectively. There is a shift of about 0.1 eV between ITO and ITO/TiO₂ films deposited at 200 °C. The shift decreases by half when the TiO₂ film was deposited at 400 °C. Post-annealing was also performed on double layer ITO/TiO₂.     

Oriented single crystalline TiO2 nano-pillar arrays directly grown on titanium substrate in tetramethylammonium hydroxide solution

Oriented single crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nano-pillar arrays were directly synthesized on the Ti plate in tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAOH) solution by one-pot hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized respectively by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results showed that the TiO₂ nano-pillar with a tetrahydral bipyramidal tip grew vertically on the titanium substrate. HRTEM and Raman results confirmed that the TiO₂ nano-pillar arrays were single crystalline anatase. The controls of morphology, size, and orientation of the nano-pillar could be achieved by varying the solution concentration and hydrothermal temperature. Furthermore, the special morphology of the TiO₂ nano-pillar arrays was caused by the selectively absorption of the tetramethylammonium (TMA) through hydrogen bonds on the lattice planes parallel to (0 0 1) of anatase TiO₂. Less grain boundaries and direct electrical pathway for electron transferring were crucial for the superior photoelectrochemical properties of the single anatase TiO₂ nano-pillar arrays. This approach provides a facile in situ method to synthesize TiO₂ nano-pillar arrays with a special morphology on titanium substrate.     

Deposition of Au/TiO2 film by pulsed laser

Au nanoparticles, which were photoreduced by a Nd:YAG laser in HAuCl₄ solution containing TiO₂ colloid and accompanied by the TiO₂ particles, were deposited on the substrate surface. The film consisting of Au/TiO₂ particles was characterized by the absorption spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The adhesion between the film and substrate was evaluated by using adhesive tape test. It was found that the presence of TiO₂ dramatically enhanced the adhesion strength between the film and the substrate, as well as the deposition rate of film. The mechanism for the deposition of Au/TiO₂ film was also discussed.     

Effect of TiO2/Al2O3 film coated diamond abrasive particles by sol-gel technique

The diamond abrasive particles were coated with the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film by the sol-gel technique. Compared with the uncoated diamonds, the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film was excellent material for the protection of the diamonds. The results showed that the incipient oxidation temperature of the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film coated diamonds in air atmosphere was 775 °C, which was higher 175 °C than that of the uncoated diamonds. And the coated diamonds also had better the diamond's single particle compressive strength and the impact toughness than that of uncoated diamonds after sintering at 750 °C. For the vitrified bond grinding wheels, replacing the uncoated diamonds with the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film coated diamonds, the volume expansion of the grinding wheels decreased from 6.2% to 3.4%, the porosity decreased from 35.7% to 25.7%, the hardness increased from 61.2H_RC to 66.5H_RC and the grinding ratio of the vitrified bond grinding wheels to carbide alloy (YG8) increased from 11.5 to 19.1.     

Room temperature ferromagnetism in vacuum-annealed TiO2 thin films

Thin films of pure TiO₂ have been prepared using both spin-coating and sputter-deposition techniques on sapphire and quartz substrates. The structural characteristics of the films have been investigated in detail using Raman spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). When annealed in vacuum, all films demonstrate room temperature ferromagnetism, while the air-annealed samples show much smaller, often negligible, magnetic moments. The magnetization of the vacuum-annealed sputtered samples depends on film thickness, with the volume magnetization decreasing monotonically with increasing thickness. Furthermore, the magnetization per unit area also decreases slightly with increasing film thickness. These results suggest that ferromagnetism in the vacuum-annealed TiO₂ films is mediated by surface defects or interfacial effects, but does not arise from stoichiometric crystalline TiO₂.     

Uniform thin films of TiO2 nanoparticles deposited by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation

We report morphological and optical properties of a colloidal TiO₂ nanoparticle film, deposited on a quartz substrate by using the Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) technique. Atomic Force Microscopy demonstrated that a good uniformity of the deposition can be obtained. The presence of agglomerates with dimensions of about 1 μm in size was noticed. Form UV-vis transmission spectra, recorded in the 200-800 nm range, the optical constants and the energy gap were determined besides the film thickness. The optical constants resulted in agreement with the values reported in literature for TiO₂ nanoparticle thin films.     

Concentration-dependent electronic structure and optical absorption properties of B-doped anatase TiO2

The concentration-dependent electronic structures and optical properties of B-doped anatase TiO₂ have been calculated using the density functional theory. The calculated results indicate that the electronic structures of B-doped TiO₂ have changed compared with those of pure TiO₂, which is mainly due to the new midgap states induced by B doping. As to the optical properties, we calculate the imaginary part of dielectric function ε₂(ω) and optical absorption spectra of pure and B-doped TiO₂. Two transitions E₁ and E₂ emerged after B doping. The intensity of absorption is enhanced by B doping both in the UV and visible regions. According to the results of imaginary part of dielectric function ε₂(ω) and DOS, it can be concluded that the two optical transitions correspond to the transitions from the O 2p states in the top of valence band to the midgap states and from the midgap states to the Ti 3d states in the bottom of conduction band, respectively. These results have important implications for the further development of photocatalytic materials.     

萤石结构TiO2的电子结构和光学性质

利用第一性原理计算了立方相萤石TiO₂的晶胞参数，能带结构和电子态密度.结果显示萤石TiO₂属于间接带隙半导体材料，其间接禁带宽度(Γ→X)E_g为2.07eV，比常见的金红石和锐钛矿TiO₂的禁带宽度窄.为了更清楚地了解萤石的光学性质，利用Kramers-Kronig色散关系，分别对萤石和金红石TiO₂的复介电常数、吸收率等参数进行了计算，并将二者结果做了     

萤石结构TiO2的电子结构和光学性质

利用第一性原理计算了立方相萤石TiO₂的晶胞参数,能带结构和电子态密度.结果显示萤石TiO₂属于间接带隙半导体材料,其间接禁带宽度(Γ→X)E_g为2.07eV,比常见的金红石和锐钛矿TiO₂的禁带宽度窄.为了更清楚地了解萤石的光学性质,利用Kramers-Kronig色散关系,分别对萤石和金红石TiO₂的复介电常数、吸收率等参数进行了计算,并将二者结果做了 关键词： 2')" href="#">萤石结构TiO₂ 密度泛函理论 能带结构 光学性质