Tunable photovoltaic performance of preferentially oriented rutile TiO2 nanorod photoanode based dye sensitized solar cells with quasi-state electrolyte

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabari Girisun, T. C.; Jeganathan, C.; Pavithra, N.; Anandan, S.

2018-02-01

Photoanodes made of highly oriented TiO2 nanorod (NR) arrays with different aspect ratios were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal technique. Preferentially oriented single crystalline rutile TiO2 was confirmed by the single peak in an XRD pattern (2θ = 63°, (0 0 2)). FESEM images evidenced the growth of an array of NRss having different geometries with respect to reaction time and solution refreshment rate. The length, diameter and aspect ratio of the NRs increased with reaction time as 4 h (1.98 μm, 121 nm, 15.32), 8 h (4 μm, 185 nm, 22.70), 12 h (5.6 μm, 242 nm, 27.24) and 16 h (8 μm, 254 nm, 38.02), respectively. Unlike a conventional dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with a liquid electrolyte, DSSCs were fabricated here using one-dimensional rutile TiO2 NR based photoanodes, N719 dye and a quasi-state electrolyte. The charge transport properties were investigated using current-voltage curves and fitted using the one-diode model. Interestingly the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs increased exponentially with the length of the NR and was attributed to a higher surface to volume ratio, more dye anchoring, and channelized electron transport. The higher photovoltaic performance (Jsc = 5.99 mA cm-2, Voc = 750 mV, η = 3.08%) was observed with photoanodes (16 h) made with the longer, densely packed TiO2 NRs (8 μm, 254 nm).

Ab-initio calculation and experimental observation of room temperature ferromagnetism in 50 keV nitrogen implanted rutile TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luitel, Homnath; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Sarkar, A.; Dechoudhury, S.; Bhowmick, D.; Naik, V.; Sanyal, D.

2018-02-01

Room temperature magnetic properties of 50 keV N4+ ion beam implanted rutile TiO2 have been theoretically and experimentally studied. Ab-initio calculation under the frame work of density functional theory has been carried out to study the magnetic properties of the different possible nitrogen related defects in TiO2. Spin polarized density of states calculation suggests that both Ninst and NO can induce ferromagnetic ordering in rutile TiO2. In both cases the 2p orbital electrons of nitrogen atom give rise to the magnetic moment in TiO2. The possibility of the formation of N2 molecule in TiO2 system is also studied but in this case no significant magnetic moment has been observed. The magnetic measurements, using SQUID magnetometer, results a ferromagnetic ordering even at room temperature for the 50 keV N4+ ion beam implanted rutile TiO2.

Natural dye sensitizer from cassava (Manihot utilissima) leaves extract and its adsorption onto TiO2 photo-anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurlela; Wibowo, R.; Gunlazuardi, J.

2017-04-01

Interaction between TiO2 and dyes sensitizer have been studied. The chlorophyll presents in the crude leave extract (CLE-dye) from cassava (Manihot utilissima) was immobilized on to the photo-anode, consists of TiO2 supported by fluor doped Tin oxide (SnO2-F) Glass. The TiO2 was prepared by Rapid Breakdown Anodization (RBA) method then immobilized on to glass coated by SnO2-F using doctor blade technique, to give CLE-dye/TiO2/SnO2-F/Glass photo-anode. The prepared photo-anode was characterized by UV-Vis-DRS, FTIR, XRD, SEM, electrochemical and spectro-electrochemical systems. In this study, the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) and LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) energy level of the CLE-dye were empirically determined by cyclic voltammetry method, while spectro-electro-chemistry method was used to determine the coefficient of degradation and formation of the dyes, and diffusion coefficient of the hole recombination as well. Good anchoring between TiO2 with dye extracts (CLE-dye) can be seen from value of dye LUMO energy level (-4.26 eV), which is approaching the conduction band of TiO2 (-4.3 eV). The coefficient of degradation and formation of the CLE-dye showed a quasi reversible and diffusion coefficient hole recombination values were small, indicated that it is quite suitable as a sensitizer in a dyes sensitized solar cell.

Protecting hydrogenation-generated oxygen vacancies in BiVO4 photoanode for enhanced water oxidation with conformal ultrathin amorphous TiO2 layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yang; Zhang, Xintong; Wang, Dan; Wan, Fangxu; Liu, Yichun

2017-05-01

Introducing appropriate amount of oxygen vacancies by hydrogenation treatment is a simple and efficient way to improve the photoelectrochemical performance of nanostructured oxide photoanodes. However, the hydrogenation effect is often not durable due to the gradual healing of oxygen vacancies at or close to surface of photoanodes. Herein, we tackled the problem by conformal coating the hydrogenated nanoporous BiVO4 (H-BiVO4) photoanode with an ultrathin layer of amorphous TiO2. Photoelectrochemical measurements showed that a 4 nm-thick TiO2 layer could significantly improve the stability of H-BiVO4 photoanode for repeated working test, with negligible influence on the initial photocurrent compared to the uncoated one. Mott-Schottky and linear sweep voltammetry measurements showed that donor density and photocurrent density of the H-BiVO4 electrode almost decayed to the values of pristine BiVO4 electrode after 3 h test, while the amorphous TiO2-coated electrode only degraded by 6% and 5% of the initial values respectively in the same period. The investigation thus suggested that the amorphous TiO2 layer did protect the oxygen vacancies in H-BiVO4 photoanode by isolating these oxygen vacancies from environmental oxygen, while at the same time not impeding the interfacial charge transfer to water molecules due to its leaky nature.

Toward Eco-Friendly and Highly Efficient Solar Water Splitting Using In2S3/Anatase/Rutile TiO2 Dual-Staggered-Heterojunction Nanodendrite Array Photoanode.

PubMed

Yang, Jih-Sheng; Wu, Jih-Jen

2018-01-31

The TiO 2 -based heterojunction nanodendrite (ND) array composed of anatase nanoparticles (ANPs) on the surface of the rutile ND (RND) array is selected as the model photoanode to demonstrate the strategies toward eco-friendly and efficient solar water splitting using neutral electrolyte and seawater. Compared with the performances in alkaline electrolyte, a non-negligible potential drop across the electrolyte as well as impeded charge injection and charge separation is monitored in the ANP/RND array photoanode with neutral electrolyte, which are, respectively, ascribed to the series resistance of neutral electrolyte, the fundamentally pH-dependent water oxidation mechanism on TiO 2 surface, as well as the less band bending at the interface of TiO 2 and neutral electrolyte. Accordingly, a TiO 2 -based dual-staggered heterojunction ND array photoanode is further designed in this work to overcome the issue of less band bending with the neutral electrolyte. The improvement of charge separation efficiency is realized by the deposition of a transparent In 2 S 3 layer on the ANP/RND array photoanode for constructing additional staggered heterojunction. Under illumination of AM 1.5G (100 mW cm -2 ), the improved photocurrent densities acquired both in neutral electrolyte and seawater at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), which approach the theoretical value for rutile TiO 2 , are demonstrated in the dual-staggered-heterojunction ND array photoanode. Faradaic efficiencies of ∼95 and ∼32% for solar water oxidation in neutral electrolyte and solar seawater oxidation for 2 h are acquired at 1.23 V vs RHE, respectively.

Tunable photovoltaic performance of preferentially oriented rutile TiO2 nanorod photoanode based dye sensitized solar cells with quasi-state electrolyte.

PubMed

Girisun, T C Sabari; Jeganathan, C; Pavithra, N; Anandan, S

2018-01-23

Photoanodes made of highly oriented TiO 2 nanorod (NR) arrays with different aspect ratios were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal technique. Preferentially oriented single crystalline rutile TiO 2 was confirmed by the single peak in an XRD pattern (2θ = 63°, (0 0 2)). FESEM images evidenced the growth of an array of NRss having different geometries with respect to reaction time and solution refreshment rate. The length, diameter and aspect ratio of the NRs increased with reaction time as 4 h (1.98 μm, 121 nm, 15.32), 8 h (4 μm, 185 nm, 22.70), 12 h (5.6 μm, 242 nm, 27.24) and 16 h (8 μm, 254 nm, 38.02), respectively. Unlike a conventional dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with a liquid electrolyte, DSSCs were fabricated here using one-dimensional rutile TiO 2 NR based photoanodes, N719 dye and a quasi-state electrolyte. The charge transport properties were investigated using current-voltage curves and fitted using the one-diode model. Interestingly the photovoltaic performance of the DSSCs increased exponentially with the length of the NR and was attributed to a higher surface to volume ratio, more dye anchoring, and channelized electron transport. The higher photovoltaic performance (J sc  = 5.99 mA cm -2 , V oc  = 750 mV, η = 3.08%) was observed with photoanodes (16 h) made with the longer, densely packed TiO 2 NRs (8 μm, 254 nm).

In-situ co-doping of sputter-deposited TiO2:WN films for the development of photoanodes intended for visible-light electro-photocatalytic degradation of emerging pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delegan, N.; Pandiyan, R.; Komtchou, S.; Dirany, A.; Drogui, P.; El Khakani, M. A.

2018-05-01

We report on the magnetron sputtering deposition of in-situ codoped TiO2:WN films intended for electro-photocatalytic (EPC) applications under solar irradiation. By varying the RF-magnetron sputtering deposition parameters, we were able to tune the in-situ incorporation of both N and W dopants in the TiO2 films over a wide concentration range (i.e., 0-9 at. % for N and 0-3 at. % for W). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that both dopants are mostly of a substitutional nature. The analysis of the UV-Vis transmission spectra of the films confirmed that the optical bandgap of both TiO2:N and TiO2:WN films can be significantly narrowed (from 3.2 eV for undoped-TiO2 down to ˜2.3 eV for the doped ones) by tuning their dopant concentrations. We were thus able to pinpoint an optimal window for both dopants (N and W) where the TiO2:WN films exhibit the narrowest bandgap. Moreover, the optimal codoping conditions greatly reduce the recombination defect state density compared to the monodoped TiO2:N films. These electronically passivated TiO2:WN films are shown to be highly effective for the EPC degradation of atrazine (pesticide pollutant) under sunlight irradiation (93% atrazine degraded after only 30 min of EPC treatment). Indeed, the optimally codoped TiO2:WN photoanodes were found to be more efficient than both the undoped-TiO2 and equally photosensitized TiO2:N photoanodes (by ˜70% and ˜25%, respectively) under AM1.5 irradiation.

Influence of immersion cycles during n-β-Bi2O3 sensitization on the photoelectrochemical behaviour of N-F-codoped TiO2 nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoyos, Lina J.; Rivera, Diego F.; Gualdrón-Reyes, Andrés F.; Ospina, Rogelio; Rodríguez-Pereira, Jhonatan; Ropero-Vega, Jose L.; Niño-Gómez, Martha E.

2017-11-01

Sensitization of TiO2 nanotube (TNT)-based photoanodes with narrow-band gap semiconductors is an important alternative to improving the photoelectrochemical properties of the material. However, the interaction between the sensitizer and TNT is not understood deeply enough to relate charge carrier transport into the composite photoanode with its photoactivity. In this contribution, we studied the photoelectrochemical behaviour of N-F-self codoped TiO2 nanotubes (N-F-TNTs) that were grown by anodization of titanium plates and sensitized with β-Bi2O3 by immersing the TNTs into a Bi2O3 sol solution by dip-coating. The number of immersion cycles was varied. The as-fabricated photoanodes were characterized by FESEM, GIXRD, DRS and XPS, while their photoelectrochemical and semiconducting properties were investigated by photovoltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky analysis in 0.1 M HClO4. The photoelectrocatalytic activity of the composite photoanodes was evaluated for glycerol oxidation under acidic and alkaline conditions. The N-F-TNTs exhibit a well-oriented structure after β-Bi2O3 deposition. The presence of substitutions of both N and F, identified by XPS, indicates the self-doping of the TNTs during anodization. The visible-light harvesting of the N-F-TNT photoanode was enhanced after three -immersion cycles during β-Bi2O3 sensitization, establishing an adequate n-n heterojunction at the N-F-TNT/Bi2O3 interface. In addition, bismuth migration from the sensitizer to the TNT lattice was promoted during thermal treatment, forming Bi-N-F-tridoping of TNT (Bi-N-F-TNT). The suitable band alignment between TNT and β-Bi2O3 and incorporation of the Bi3+ energy levels into TiO2 facilitate charge carrier separation and electron transport throughout the cell. Nevertheless, increasing the number of immersion cycles over three creates an excess of Bi3+ species at the N-F-TNT/β-Bi2O3 interface, producing an energetic barrier that hinders electron

Enhanced Efficiency of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with Mesoporous-Macroporous TiO2 Photoanode Obtained Using ZnO Template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Trang T. T.; Mathews, Nripan; Lam, Yeng-Ming; Mhaisalkar, Subodh

2017-06-01

Improved light harvesting efficiency can be achieved by enhancing the optical properties of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), leading to higher power conversion efficiency. By incorporating submicrometer cavities in TiO2 mesoporous film, using zinc oxide (ZnO) particles as a template, a bimodal pore size structure has been created, called a mesoporous-macroporous nanostructure. This photoanode structure consists of 20-nm TiO2 nanoparticles with two kinds of pores with size of 20 nm (mesopores) and 500 nm (macropores). Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction studies showed no trace of ZnO in the TiO2 after removal by TiCl4 treatment. Higher diffuse transmittance of this film compared with the standard transparent photoanode provides evidence of improved light scattering. When employed in a device, the incident-photon-to-current efficiency of ZnO-assisted devices showed enhancement at longer wavelengths, corresponding to the Mie light scattering effect with the macropores as scattering centers. This resulted in overall higher power conversion efficiency of the DSSC. In this work, a nonvolatile gel ionic liquid was used as the electrolyte to also demonstrate the benefit of this structure in combination with a viscous electrolyte and its promising application to prolong the stability of DSSCs.

Hyperbranched TiO2-CdS nano-heterostructures for highly efficient photoelectrochemical photoanodes.

PubMed

Mezzetti, Alessandro; Balandeh, Mehrdad; Luo, Jingshan; Bellani, Sebastiano; Tacca, Alessandra; Divitini, Giorgio; Cheng, Chuanwei; Ducati, Caterina; Meda, Laura; Fan, Hongjin; Di Fonzo, Fabio

2018-08-17

Quasi-1D-hyperbranched TiO 2 nanostructures are grown via pulsed laser deposition and sensitized with thin layers of CdS to act as a highly efficient photoelectrochemical photoanode. The device properties are systematically investigated by optimizing the height of TiO 2 scaffold structure and thickness of the CdS sensitizing layer, achieving photocurrent values up to 6.6 mA cm -2 and reaching saturation with applied biases as low as 0.35 V RHE . The high internal conversion efficiency of these devices is to be found in the efficient charge generation and injection of the thin CdS photoactive film and in the enhanced charge transport properties of the hyperbranched TiO 2 scaffold. Hence, the proposed device represents a promising architecture for heterostructures capable of achieving high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency.

Effect of Germanium on the TiO2 Photoanode for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Applications. A Potential Sintering Aid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, M. S.; Pandey, AK; Rahim, N. A.

2018-05-01

Anatase titanium-germanium (TiO2-Ge) nanocomposite has been prepared by using colloidal suspension process and investigated for photoanode to be used in dye sensitized solar cell. Ge possesses lower band gap energy compared to TiO2 and has the capability to absorb infrared region of solar spectrum. Its remarkable absorption and good electron transfer ability due to lower band gap energy makes it a potential candidate material in the field of DSSCs to counter important disadvantages such as high probability of electron recombination reactions and absorption of small region (UV region) of solar spectrum. Another advantage is its low sintering temperature which proved to be an added advantage to increase inter-particle contact which in turn leads to improved electron transfer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), uv-vis spectroscopy and electron impedance spectroscopy (EIS) have been employed to evaluate the effect of Ge on TiO2photoanode.

Ni-doped TiO2 nanotubes photoanode for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Zhenbiao; Ding, Dongyan; Li, Ting; Ning, Congqin

2018-06-01

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting hydrogen production provides a promising way for sustainable development. In this work, we prepared Ni-doped TiO2 (Ti-Ni-O) nanotubes through anodizing different Ti-Ni alloys and further annealing them at elevated temperatures, and reported their PEC water splitting performance. It was found that Ni doping could improve light absorption and facilitate separation of photo-excited electron-hole pair. The nanotubes fabricated on Ti-1 wt.% Ni alloy and annealed at 550 °C exhibited better PEC water splitting performance than those on Ti-10 wt.% Ni alloy. The photoconversion efficiency was 0.67%, which was 3.35 times the photoconversion efficiency of undoped TiO2. It demonstrated that it was feasible to fabricate high-performance Ti-Ni-O nanotubes on Ti-Ni alloys and used as photoanode for improving PEC water splitting.

Optimizing the photochemical conversion of UV-vis light of silver-nanoparticles decorated TiO2 nanotubes based photoanodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaidi, M.; Trabelsi, K.; Hajjaji, A.; Chourou, M. L.; Alhazaa, A. N.; Bessais, B.; El Khakani, M. A.

2018-01-01

Homogeneous decoration of TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) by Ag metallic nanoparticles (NPs) was carried out by a relatively simple photoreduction process. This Ag-NPs decoration was found to improve the photoconversion efficiency of the TiO2-NTs based photoanodes. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analyses confirmed that all the Ag-NPs are metallic and the underlying TiO2-NTs crystallize in the anatase phase after their annealing at 400 °C, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy observations have confirmed the effective decoration of the TiO2-NTs’ surface by Ag-NPs, and allowed to measure the average Ag-NPs size, which was found to increase linearly from (4 ± 2) nm to (16 ± 4) nm when the photoreduction time is increased from 5 to 20 min. The diffuse reflectivity of the Ag-NPs decorated TiO2-NTs was found to decrease significantly as compared to the undecorated TiO2-NTs. Interestingly, the Ag-NPs decorated TiO2-NTs exhibited a significantly enhanced photochemical response, under visible radiation, with regards to the undecorated NTs. This enhancement was found to reach its maximum for the TiO2-NTs decorated with Ag-NPs having the optimal average diameter of ˜8.5 nm. The maximum photoconversion efficiency of Ag-NPs decorated TiO2-NTs was about two times greater than for the undecorated ones. This improved photo-electro-chemical response is believed to be associated with the additional absorption of visible light of Ag-NPs through the localized surface plasmon resonance phenomenon. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the photoluminescence intensity of the Ag-NPs decorated TiO2-NTs was found to decrease significantly as compared to undecorated NTs, due to charge carriers trapping in the Ag NPs. This demonstrates that Ag-NPs decoration promotes photogenerated charges separation in the TiO2-NTs, increasing thereby their capacity for current photogeneration. The surface decoration of TiO2 NTs by noble metals NPs is expected to

Optimizing the photochemical conversion of UV-vis light of silver-nanoparticles decorated TiO2 nanotubes based photoanodes.

PubMed

Gaidi, M; Trabelsi, K; Hajjaji, A; Chourou, M L; Alhazaa, A N; Bessais, B; El Khakani, M A

2018-01-05

Homogeneous decoration of TiO 2 nanotubes (NTs) by Ag metallic nanoparticles (NPs) was carried out by a relatively simple photoreduction process. This Ag-NPs decoration was found to improve the photoconversion efficiency of the TiO 2 -NTs based photoanodes. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analyses confirmed that all the Ag-NPs are metallic and the underlying TiO 2 -NTs crystallize in the anatase phase after their annealing at 400 °C, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy observations have confirmed the effective decoration of the TiO 2 -NTs' surface by Ag-NPs, and allowed to measure the average Ag-NPs size, which was found to increase linearly from (4 ± 2) nm to (16 ± 4) nm when the photoreduction time is increased from 5 to 20 min. The diffuse reflectivity of the Ag-NPs decorated TiO 2 -NTs was found to decrease significantly as compared to the undecorated TiO 2 -NTs. Interestingly, the Ag-NPs decorated TiO 2 -NTs exhibited a significantly enhanced photochemical response, under visible radiation, with regards to the undecorated NTs. This enhancement was found to reach its maximum for the TiO 2 -NTs decorated with Ag-NPs having the optimal average diameter of ∼8.5 nm. The maximum photoconversion efficiency of Ag-NPs decorated TiO 2 -NTs was about two times greater than for the undecorated ones. This improved photo-electro-chemical response is believed to be associated with the additional absorption of visible light of Ag-NPs through the localized surface plasmon resonance phenomenon. This interpretation is supported by the fact that the photoluminescence intensity of the Ag-NPs decorated TiO 2 -NTs was found to decrease significantly as compared to undecorated NTs, due to charge carriers trapping in the Ag NPs. This demonstrates that Ag-NPs decoration promotes photogenerated charges separation in the TiO 2 -NTs, increasing thereby their capacity for current photogeneration. The surface decoration of TiO 2 NTs by noble

Hybrid TiO2/ZnO and TiO2/Al plasmon impregnated ZnO nanocomposite photoanodes for DSSCs: synthesis and characterisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pugazhendhi, K.; D’Almeida, Steven; Naveen Kumar, P.; Sahaya Selva Mary, J.; Tenkyong, Tenzin; Sharmila, D. J.; J, Madhavan; Merline Shyla, J.

2018-04-01

The proposed work reports the synthesis and characterisation of novel and hybrid nanocomposites TiO2/ZnO and TiO2/Al plasmon impregnated ZnO, prepared using sol-gel method. X-Ray Diffraction analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanocomposites with high degree of purity and the crystallite size was found to be 22 nm (TiO2/ZnO) and 21 nm (TiO2/Al-ZnO) using Scherrer’s formula. The surface chemistry, elemental compositions and purity were investigated and established using Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis. The specific surface area of TiO2/ZnO was observed to be 23 m2 g‑1 whereas on comparison, a slight decrease was observed in the case of TiO2/Al-ZnO to 19 m2 g‑1 from Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and in addition, both the samples were identified to be mesoporous in nature. The vibrational assignments were observed using Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy and results confirmed the existence of TiO2, ZnO and Al groups. The electrical response of the nanocomposites to the incident radiation with applied electric field was examined using Field Dependent Dark and Photo conductivity studies. The observed measurements revealed that the photocurrent values are greater than the dark currents which confirmed the photoconductive nature of the nanocomposites. While both the prepared nanocomposites qualify as good candidates for usage as efficient photoanodes for DSSCs, TiO2/Al-ZnO indicates a slight edge over the other.

Photoinduced deposition of gold nanoparticles on TiO2-WO3 nanotube films as efficient photoanodes for solar water splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Momeni, Mohamad Mohsen; Ghayeb, Yousef

2016-06-01

Gold-modified TiO2-WO3 nanotubes with different amounts of gold were obtained by two methods; photoassisted deposition and one-step electrochemical anodizing method. The morphology, crystallinity and elemental composition were studied by FE-SEM, XRD and EDX. The photoelectrochemical performance was examined under Xe light illumination in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. Characterization of the as-prepared TiO2-WO3 samples indicated that sodium tungstate concentration in anodizing solution significantly influenced the morphology and photoelectrochemical activity of fabricated films. Also, photoelectrochemical characterizations show that the photocatalytic activity of Au/TiO2-WO3 nanotubes was improved as compared with that of bare TiO2-WO3 nanotubes. The experimental results showed that the photocatalytic activities of Au/TiO2-WO3 were significantly affected by the amount of Au nanoparticles. The amount of gold nanoparticles was effectively controlled by time of photoreduction of the chloroauric acid solution. These new photoanodes showed enhanced high photocurrent density with good stability and are a highly promising photoanodes for photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Efficiency enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells by use of ZrO2-doped TiO2 nanofibers photoanode.

PubMed

Mohamed, Ibrahim M A; Dao, Van-Duong; Barakat, Nasser A M; Yasin, Ahmed S; Yousef, Ahmed; Choi, Ho-Suk

2016-08-15

Due to the good stability and convenient optical properties, TiO2 nanostructures still the prominent photoanode materials in the Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSCs). However, the well-known low bandgap energy and weak adsorption affinity for the dye distinctly constrain the wide application. This work discusses the impact of Zr-doping and nanofibrous morphology on the performance and physicochemical properties of TiO2. Zr-doped TiO2 nanofibers (NFs), with various zirconia content (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2wt%) were prepared by calcination of electrospun mats composed of polyvinyl acetate, titanium isopropoxyl and zirconium n-propoxyl. For all formulations, the results have shown that the prepared materials are continuous, randomly oriented, and good morphology nanofibers. The average diameter decreased from 353.85nm to 210.78nm after calcination without a considerable influence on the nanofibrous structure regardless the zirconia content. XRD result shows that there is no Rutile nor Brookite phases in the obtained material and the average crystallite size of the sample is affected by the presence of Zr-doping and changed from 23.01nm to 37.63nm for TiO2 and Zr-doped TiO2, respectively. Optical studies have shown Zr-doped TiO2 NFs have more absorbance in the visible region than that of pristine TiO2 NFs; the maximum absorbance is corresponding to the NFs having 1wt% zirconia. The improved spectra of Zr-doped TiO2 in the visible region is attributed to the heterostructure composition resulting from Zr-doping. The absorption bandgaps were calculated using Tauc model as 3.202 and 3.217 for pristine and Zr (1wt%)-doped TiO2 NFs, respectively. Furthermore, in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells, utilizing Zr (1wt%)-doped TiO2 nanofibers achieved higher efficiency of 4.51% compared to the 1.61% obtained from the pristine TiO2 NFs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Band edge movement and structural modifications in transition metal doped TiO2 nanocrystals for the application of DSSC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patle, L. B.; Huse, V. R.; Chaudhari, A. L.

2017-10-01

Nanocrystalline undoped and transition metal ion doped (TM:Cu2+, Mn2+ and Fe3+) TiO2 nanoparticles, with 1 mol% were synthesized by a simple and cost effective modified co-precipitation method at room temperature and were successfully used as photoanode for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The effect of transition metal ions into TiO2 nano crystalline powder has been systematically investigated using x-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results of XRD confirm nanocrystalline anatase tetragonal structure of prepared undoped and TM doped TiO2 semiconductor. The influence of doping on band edge movement has been estimated using UV-visible spectroscopy. The SEM results indicate that microscopic effect of doping on morphology of the TiO2. The peaks of EDX signify incorporation of transition metal cations into TiO2 lattice. The effect of doping on flat band potential was estimated using interpolation on Mott-Schottky plot. The performances of DSSCs of undoped and doped TiO2 photoelectrodes were investigated under light illumination. In comparison with undoped and (Cu2+, Fe3+) doped TiO2 photoanodes we found that incorporation of Mn2+ into TiO2 exhibits improvement in photoconversion efficiency (η). There is increase in photoconversion efficiency of DSSCs with Mn2+ doped TiO2 by 6% as compared to that of undoped TiO2 photoanode.

TiO2/BiVO4 Nanowire Heterostructure Photoanodes Based on Type II Band Alignment

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Metal oxides that absorb visible light are attractive for use as photoanodes in photoelectrosynthetic cells. However, their performance is often limited by poor charge carrier transport. We show that this problem can be addressed by using separate materials for light absorption and carrier transport. Here, we report a Ta:TiO2|BiVO4 nanowire photoanode, in which BiVO4 acts as a visible light-absorber and Ta:TiO2 acts as a high surface area electron conductor. Electrochemical and spectroscopic measurements provide experimental evidence for the type II band alignment necessary for favorable electron transfer from BiVO4 to TiO2. The host–guest nanowire architecture presented here allows for simultaneously high light absorption and carrier collection efficiency, with an onset of anodic photocurrent near 0.2 V vs RHE, and a photocurrent density of 2.1 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs RHE. PMID:27163032

Design of an efficient photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells using electrospun one-dimensional GO/N-doped nanocomposite SnO2/TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, Ibrahim M. A.; Dao, Van-Duong; Yasin, Ahmed S.; Barakat, Nasser A. M.; Choi, Ho-Suk

2017-04-01

This study presents the combination of N, graphene oxide (GO) and SnO2 as efficient dopants into TiO2 nanofibers (NFs) photoanode substrate for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The developed NFs are synthesized by electrospinning and hydrothermal processes and characterized by FESEM, TEM, XPS, FT-IR, Raman and EDX-studies. The formation of short NFs is confirmed through FESEM and TEM measurements. As the results, the major crystal structure of TiO2 in the prepared NFs has anatase (85.23%) and rutile-structure (14.67%). XPS and EDX studies affirm that the material has Ti, O, Sn, N and C elements. In addition, FT-IR and Raman spectra give an indication about the GO-content. Typically, the DSC based on the novel NFs shows 6.18% efficiency. The Jsc, Voc, FF and Rct are estimated and found to be 10.32 mA cm-2, 0.825 V, 0.73 and 21.66 Ω, respectively. The high-power efficiency is contributed by three reasons. The first one is the high dye-loading (2.16 × 10-7 mol cm-2). The second reason is the enhanced charge transfer and decreasing of the electrons/holes recombination through formation of wide band-gap oxide (3.246 eV). Finally, the third one is GO-doping which may create new routes for the electron transfer in working electrode layer.

Investigating the performance of nitrogen-doped graphene photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joseph, Easter; Singh, Balbir Singh Mahinder; Mohamed, Norani Muti; Kait, Chong Fai; Saheed, Mohamed Shuaib Mohamed; Khatani, Mehboob

2016-11-01

In this paper, the atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (AP-CVD) is used to synthesize graphene on a copper substrate by utilizing methane as a precursor and N-doped graphene (NDG) in the presence of ammonia. The performance of pure titanium dioxide (TiO2), TiO2/graphene, and TiO2/NDG as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) were compared. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed flakes of few layers with an interrupted layer in both graphene and NDG. DSSC consist of TiO2/NDG photoanode exhibits a better enhancement due to the high conductivity of donor N in graphene which enhances the electron transportation across nanoporous TiO2.

Characterization and Comparison of Photocatalytic Activity Silver Ion doped on TiO2(TiO2/Ag+) and Silver Ion doped on Black TiO2(Black TiO2/Ag+)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin Yi; Sim, Ho Hyung; Song, Sinae; Noh, Yeoung Ah; Lee, Hong Woon; Taik Kim, Hee

2018-03-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the representative ceramic materials containing photocatalyst, optic and antibacterial activity. The hydroxyl radical in TiO2 applies to the intensive oxidizing agent, hence TiO2 is suitable to use photocatalytic materials. Black TiO2was prepared through reduction of amorphous TiO2 conducting under H2 which leads to color changes. Its black color is proven that absorbs 100% light across the whole-visible light, drawing enhancement of photocatalytic property. In this study, we aimed to compare the photocatalytic activity of silver ion doped on TiO2(TiO2/Ag+) and silver ion doped on black TiO2(black TiO2/Ag+) under visible light range. TiO2/Ag+ was fabricated following steps. 1) TiO2 was synthesized by a sol-gel method from Titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP). 2) Then AgNO3 was added during an aging process step for silver ion doping on the surface of TiO2. Moreover, Black TiO2/Ag+ was obtained same as TiO2/Ag+ except for calcination under H2. The samples were characterized X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible reflectance (UV-vis DRS), and Methylene Blue degradation test. XRD analysis confirmed morphology of TiO2. The band gap of black TiO2/Ag+ was confirmed (2.6 eV) through UV-vis DRS, which was lower than TiO2/Ag+ (2.9 eV). The photocatalytic effect was conducted by methylene blue degradation test. It demonstrated that black TiO2/Ag+ had a photocatalytic effect under UV light also visible light.

Cd ion implantation in AlN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, S. M. C.; Franco, N.; Alves, E.; Lorenz, K.

2012-10-01

AlN thin films were implanted with cadmium, to fluences of 1 × 1013 and 8 × 1014 at/cm2. The implanted samples were annealed at 950 °C under flowing nitrogen. Although implantation damage in AlN is known to be extremely stable the crystal could be fully recovered at low fluences. At high fluences the implantation damage was only partially removed. Implantation defects cause an expansion of the c-lattice parameter. For the high fluence sample the lattice site location of the ions was studied by Rutherford Backscattering/Channelling Spectrometry. Cd ions are found to be incorporated in substitutional Al sites in the crystal and no significant diffusion is seen upon thermal annealing. The observed high solubility limit and site stability are prerequisite for using Cd as p-type dopant in AlN.

Eosin-Y sensitized core-shell TiO2-ZnO nano-structured photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cell applications.

PubMed

Manikandan, V S; Palai, Akshaya K; Mohanty, Smita; Nayak, Sanjay K

2018-06-01

In the current investigation, TiO 2 and TiO 2 -ZnO (core-shell) spherical nanoparticles were synthesized by simple combined hydrolysis and refluxing method. A TiO 2 core nanomaterial on the shell material of ZnO was synthesized by utilizing variable ratios of ZnO. The structural characterization of TiO 2 -ZnO core/shell nanoparticles were done by XRD analysis. The spherical structured morphology of the TiO 2 -ZnO has been confirmed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The UV-visible spectra of TiO 2 -ZnO nanostructures were also compared with the pristine TiO 2 to investigate the shift of wavelength. The TiO 2 -ZnO core/shell nanoparticles at the interface efficiently collect the photogenarated electrons from ZnO and also ZnO act a barrier for reduced charge recombination of electrolyte and dye-nanoparticles interface. This combination improved the light absorption which induced the charge transfer ability and dye loading capacity of core-shell nanoparticles. An enhancement in the short circuit current (J sc ) from 1.67 mA/cm 2 to 2.1 mA/cm 2 has been observed for TiO 2 -ZnObased photoanode (with platinum free counter electrode), promises an improvement in the energy conversion efficiency by 57% in comparison with that of the DSSCs based on the pristine TiO 2 . Henceforth, TiO 2 -ZnO photoelectrode in ZnO will effectively act as barrier at the interface of TiO 2 -ZnO and TiO 2 , ensuring the potential for DSSC application. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gold-silver@TiO2 nanocomposite-modified plasmonic photoanodes for higher efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Lim, Su Pei; Lim, Yee Seng; Pandikumar, Alagarsamy; Lim, Hong Ngee; Ng, Yun Hau; Ramaraj, Ramasamy; Bien, Daniel Chia Sheng; Abou-Zied, Osama K; Huang, Nay Ming

2017-01-04

In the present investigation, gold-silver@titania (Au-Ag@TiO 2 ) plasmonic nanocomposite materials with different Au and Ag compositions were prepared using a simple one-step chemical reduction method and used as photoanodes in high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The Au-Ag incorporated TiO 2 photoanode demonstrated an enhanced solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency of 7.33%, which is ∼230% higher than the unmodified TiO 2 photoanode (2.22%) under full sunlight illumination (100 mW cm -2 , AM 1.5G). This superior solar energy conversion efficiency was mainly due to the synergistic effect between the Au and Ag, and their surface plasmon resonance effect, which improved the optical absorption and interfacial charge transfer by minimizing the charge recombination process. The influence of the Au-Ag composition on the overall energy conversion efficiency was also explored, and the optimized composition with TiO 2 was found to be Au 75 -Ag 25 . This was reflected in the femtosecond transient absorption dynamics in which the electron-phonon interaction in the Au nanoparticles was measured to be 6.14 ps in TiO 2 /Au 75 :Ag 25 , compared to 2.38 ps for free Au and 4.02 ps for TiO 2 /Au 100 :Ag 0 . The slower dynamics indicates a more efficient electron-hole separation in TiO 2 /Au 75 :Ag 25 that is attributed to the formation of a Schottky barrier at the interface between TiO 2 and the noble metal(s) that acts as an electron sink. The significant boost in the solar energy conversion efficiency with the Au-Ag@TiO 2 plasmonic nanocomposite showed its potential as a photoanode for high-efficiency DSSCs.

The effect of the DSSC photoanode area based on TiO2/Ag on the conversion efficiency of solar energy into electrical energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrayev, N.; Serikov, T.; Zavgorodniy, A.; Sadykova, A.

2018-01-01

A module based on dye-sensitized solar cells with Ag/TiO2 structure was developed. It is shown that the addition of the core-shell structure to the semiconductor film of titanium dioxide, where the nanoparticle Ag serves as the core, and the TiO2 is shell, increases the coefficient of solar energy conversion into electrical energy. The effect of the photoanode area on the efficiency of conversion of solar energy into electrical energy is studied. It is shown that the density of the photocurrent decreases with increasing of the photoanode area, which leads to a drop in the efficiency of solar cells.

Study of concentration-dependent cobalt ion doping of TiO2 and TiO(2-x)Nx at the nanoscale.

PubMed

Gole, James L; Prokes, Sharka M; Glembocki, O J; Wang, Junwei; Qiu, Xiaofeng; Burda, Clemens

2010-07-01

Experiments with a porous sol-gel generated TiO(2) nanocolloid and its corresponding oxynitride TiO(2-x)N(x) are carried out to evaluate those transformations which accompany additional doping with transition metals. In this study, doping with cobalt (Co(ii)) ions is evaluated using a combination of core level and VB-photoelectron and optical spectroscopy, complementing data obtained from Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy suggests that cobalt doping of porous sol-gel generated anatase TiO(2) and nitridated TiO(2-x)N(x) introduces a spinel-like structure into the TiO(2) and TiO(2-x)N(x) lattices. TEM and XPS data complemented by valence band-photoelectron spectra demonstrate that metallic cobalt clusters are not formed even at high doping levels. As evidenced by Raman spectroscopy, the creation of a spinel-like structure is commensurate with the room temperature conversion of the oxide and its oxynitride from the anatase to the rutile form. The onset of this kinetically driven process correlates with the formation of spinel sites within the TiO(2) and TiO(2-x)N(x) particles. Despite their visible light absorption, the photocatalytic activity of these cobalt seeded systems is diminished relative to the oxynitride TiO(2-x)N(x).

Effective nitrogen doping into TiO2 (N-TiO2) for visible light response photocatalysis.

PubMed

Yoshida, Tomoko; Niimi, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Muneaki; Nomoto, Toyokazu; Yagi, Shinya

2015-06-01

The thickness-controlled TiO2 thin films are fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. These samples function as photocatalysts under UV light irradiation and the reaction rate depends on the TiO2 thickness, i.e., with an increase of thickness, it increases to the maximum, followed by decreasing to be constant. Such variation of the reaction rate is fundamentally explained by the competitive production and annihilation processes of photogenerated electrons and holes in TiO2 films, and the optimum TiO2 thickness is estimated to be ca. 10nm. We also tried to dope nitrogen into the effective depth region (ca. 10nm) of TiO2 by an ion implantation technique. The nitrogen doped TiO2 enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. XANES and XPS analyses indicated two types of chemical state of nitrogen, one photo-catalytically active N substituting the O sites and the other inactive NOx (1⩽x⩽2) species. In the valence band XPS spectrum of the high active sample, the additional electronic states were observed just above the valence band edge of a TiO2. The electronic state would be originated from the substituting nitrogen and be responsible for the band gap narrowing, i.e., visible light response of TiO2 photocatalysts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

N and Cr ion implantation of natural ruby surfaces and their characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, K. Sudheendra; Sahoo, Rakesh K.; Dash, Tapan; Magudapathy, P.; Panigrahi, B. K.; Nayak, B. B.; Mishra, B. K.

2016-04-01

Energetic ions of N and Cr were used to implant the surfaces of natural rubies (low aesthetic quality). Surface colours of the specimens were found to change after ion implantation. The samples without and with ion implantation were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectra in ultra violet and visible region (DRS-UV-Vis), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and nano-indentation. While the Cr-ion implantation produced deep red surface colour (pigeon eye red) in polished raw sample (without heat treatment), the N-ion implantation produced a mixed tone of dark blue, greenish blue and violet surface colour in the heat treated sample. In the case of heat treated sample at 3 × 1017 N-ions/cm2 fluence, formation of colour centres (F+, F2, F2+ and F22+) by ion implantation process is attributed to explain the development of the modified surface colours. Certain degree of surface amorphization was observed to be associated with the above N-ion implantation.

Stabilization of n-type semiconductors to photoanodic dissolution by competitive electron transfer processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrighton, M. S.; Bocarsly, A. B.; Bolts, J. M.; Ellis, A. B.; Legg, K. D.

1977-01-01

The behavior of n-type CdX (X = S, Se, Te) and GaP, GaAs, and InP in alkaline electrolytes containing X(--) and X sub n(--) ions is reviewed. Of the 18 combinations of electrode and electrolyte, 12 alliances are completely stable to photoanodic dissolution of the n-type photoanode. In each case the oxidation of the chalcogenide species at the photoanode is reversed at the cathode to complete an electrochemical cycle involving no net chemical change. The best system in terms of light-to-electric energy conversion seems to be the CdTe-based cell employing the Te(--)/Te2(--) electrolyte, with roughly 10% efficiency at an output voltage of 0.35 V for monochromatic 633 nm input optical energy at about 25 mW/sq cm.

A detailed study on the working mechanism of a heteropoly acid modified TiO2 photoanode for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Jiang, Yanxia; Yang, Yulin; Qiang, Liangsheng; Fan, Ruiqing; Li, Liang; Ye, Tengling; Na, Yong; Shi, Yan; Luan, Tianzhu

2015-03-14

A novel heteropolyacid (HPA) K6SiW11O39Ni(H2O)·xH2O (SiW11Ni) modified TiO2 has been successfully synthesized and introduced into the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The performance of the cell with the HPA-modified photoanode (SiW11Ni/TiO2), mixed with P25 powder in the ratio of 2 : 8, is better than the cell with a pristine P25 photoanode. An increase of 31% in the photocurrent and 22% improvement in the conversion efficiency are obtained. The effect of the heteropolyacid was well studied by UV-vis spectroscopy, spectro-electrochemical spectroscopy, dark current, intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy and intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy, open-circuit voltage decay and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the interfacial layer modified by SiW11Ni can enhance the injection and transport of electrons, and then retard the recombination of electrons, which results in a longer electron lifetime. What's more, the introduction of SiW11Ni can simultaneously broaden the absorption in the visible region, eventually leading to an efficient increase in energy conversion efficiency.

g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanosheets with enhanced photoelectric conversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jian; Wang, Guanxi; Fan, Jiajie; Liu, Baoshun; Cao, Shaowen; Yu, Jiaguo

2015-01-01

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using g-C3N4 modified TiO2 nanosheets (CTS) as photoanode materials in this research. A thin layer of g-C3N4 was coated on the surface of TiO2 nanosheets by simply heating the mixture of TiO2 nanosheets and urea, which led to the formation of TiO2@g-C3N4 nanosheet heterostructure. The experimental results showed that the photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs was obviously improved after modified by g-C3N4. The measurements of I-V characteristic indicated that the introduction of g-C3N4 could increase both the open circuit voltage and short-circuit photocurrent density. Along with the analysis of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, it is considered that the thin layer of g-C3N4 can act as the blocking layer for electron backward recombination with electrolyte, which can be used as the functional material to increase the DSSC performance.

AlN metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors using Si-ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okumura, Hironori; Suihkonen, Sami; Lemettinen, Jori; Uedono, Akira; Zhang, Yuhao; Piedra, Daniel; Palacios, Tomás

2018-04-01

We report on the electrical characterization of Si-ion implanted AlN layers and the first demonstration of metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs) with an ion-implanted AlN channel. The ion-implanted AlN layers with Si dose of 5 × 1014 cm-2 exhibit n-type characteristics after thermal annealing at 1230 °C. The ion-implanted AlN MESFETs provide good drain current saturation and stable pinch-off operation even at 250 °C. The off-state breakdown voltage is 2370 V for drain-to-gate spacing of 25 µm. These results show the great potential of AlN-channel transistors for high-temperature and high-power applications.

Improved performance of CdSe/CdS/PbS co-sensitized solar cell with double-layered TiO2 films as photoanode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaolong; Lin, Yu; Wu, Jihuai; Jing, Jing; Fang, Biaopeng

2017-07-01

Improving the photovoltaic performance of CdSe/CdS/PbS co-sensitized double-layered TiO2 solar cells is reported. Double-layered TiO2 films with TiO2 microspheres as the light blocking layers were prepared. PbS, CdS and CdSe quantum dots (QDs) were assembled onto TiO2 photoanodes by simple successive ionic layer absorption and reaction (SILAR) to fabricate CdSe/CdS/PbS co-sensitized solar cells. An improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.11% was achieved for CdSe/CdS/PbS co-sensitized solar cells at one sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm-2), which had an improvement of 22.6% over that of the CdSe/CdS co-sensitized solar cells (4.17%). This enhancement is mainly attributed to their better ability of the absorption of solar light with the existence of PbS QDs, the reduction of charge recombination of the excited electron and longer lifetime of electrons, which have been proved with the photovoltaic studies and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

3D FTO/FTO-Nanocrystal/TiO2 Composite Inverse Opal Photoanode for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

PubMed

Wang, Zhiwei; Li, Xianglin; Ling, Han; Tan, Chiew Kei; Yeo, Loo Pin; Grimsdale, Andrew Clive; Tok, Alfred Iing Yoong

2018-05-01

A 3D fluorine-doped SnO 2 (FTO)/FTO-nanocrystal (NC)/TiO 2 inverse opal (IO) structure is designed and fabricated as a new "host and guest" type of composite photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this novel photoanode design, the highly conductive and porous FTO/FTO-NC IO acts as the "host" skeleton, which provides direct pathways for faster electron transport, while the conformally coated TiO 2 layer acts as the "guest" absorber layer. The unique composite IO structure is fabricated through self-assembly of colloidal spheres template, a hydrothermal method and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Owing to its large surface area and efficient charge collection, the FTO/FTO-NC/TiO 2 composite IO photoanode shows excellent photocatalytic properties for PEC water splitting. With optimized dimensions of the SnO 2 nanocrystals and the thickness of the ALD TiO 2 absorber layers, the 3D FTO/FTO-NC/TiO 2 composite IO photoanode yields a photocurrent density of 1.0 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under AM 1.5 illumination, which is four times higher than that of the FTO/TiO 2 IO reference photoanode. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Immobilization of TiO 2 nanofibers on titanium plates for implant applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Jin Ik; Yu, Bin; Woo, Kyung Mi; Lee, Yong-Keun

2008-12-01

Nanofibers have shown good biological performances such as improved cell adhesion and differentiation; therefore, nanofibrous modification of dental and bone implants might enhance osseo-integration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nanofibrous modification of titanium implants. TiO 2 nanofibers were fabricated by the electrospinning method using a mixture of Ti(IV)isopropoxide and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) in acidic alcohol solution. Then the nanofibers were immobilized on the NaOH/HCl-treated titanium plates by inducing the alcohol condensation reaction of Ti(IV)isopropoxide with Ti-OH group on the titanium surface and subsequent calcination (500-1000 °C). The immobilized TiO 2 nanofibers were characterized by SEM, XRD and a simulated removal test. The diameter of the TiO 2 nanofibers could be controlled within the range of 20-350 nm by changing the amounts of Ti(IV)isopropoxide and PVP. Phase transformation from anatase to rutile was observed after calcination. After the simulated removal test, TiO 2 nanofibers remained on titanium surface. These TiO 2 nanofibers on titanium plates could be used for the surface modification of titanium implants to improve the osseo-integration.

N-doped hollow urchin-like anatase TiO2@C composite as a novel anode for Li-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Yalan; Wang, Shengbin; Fang, Baizeng; Song, Ge; Wilkinson, David P.; Zhang, Shichao

2018-05-01

N-doped hollow urchin-like anatase TiO2 spheres (HUTSs) with carbon coating (HUTS@C) are prepared through a facile and scalable hydrothermal reaction followed by coating of polypyrrole and carbonization. The HUTS is composed of radially grown anatase nanorods and possesses an enhanced percentage of exposed {001} facets compared with P25 TiO2 nanoparticles. After the carbon coating, the HUTS@C retains the hollow nanostructure although covered with an N-doped carbon layer. As an anode for Li-ion batteries, the HUTS@C delivers a higher capacity of 165.1 mAh g-1 at 1C after 200 cycles and better rate capability (111.7 mAh g-1 at 10C) than the HUTS. Further electrochemical studies reveal that the HUTS@C has a better electrochemical reversibility, lower charge-transfer resistance, and higher Li-ion diffusion coefficient due to its unique nanosctructure including the hollow core, anatase phase of TiO2 microspheres with high exposed {001} facets and the N-doped carbon layer, which facilitates mass transport and enhances electrical conductivity.

Bi-component semiconductor oxide photoanodes for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of organic solutes and vapours: a short review with emphasis to TiO2-WO3 photoanodes.

PubMed

Georgieva, J; Valova, E; Armyanov, S; Philippidis, N; Poulios, I; Sotiropoulos, S

2012-04-15

The use of binary semiconductor oxide anodes for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of organic species (both in solution and gas phase) is reviewed. In the first part of the review, the principle of electrically assisted photocatalysis is presented, the preparation methods for the most common semiconductor oxide catalysts are briefly mentioned, while the advantages of appropriately chosen semiconductor combinations for efficient UV and visible (vis) light utilization are highlighted. The second part of the review focuses on the discussion of TiO(2)-WO(3) photoanodes (among the most studied bi-component semiconductor oxide systems) and in particular on coatings prepared by electrodeposition/electrosynthesis or powder mixtures (the focus of the authors' research during recent years). Studies concerning the microscopic, spectroscopic and photoelectrochemical characterization of the catalysts are presented and examples of photoanode activity towards typical dissolved organic contaminants as well as organic vapours are given. Particular emphasis is paid to: (a) The dependence of photoactivity on catalyst morphology and composition and (b) the possibility of carrying out photoelectrochemistry in all-solid cells, thus opening up the opportunity for photoelectrocatalytic air treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding charge transfer dynamics in QDs-TiO2 nanorod array photoanodes for solar fuel generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiangtian; McClure, Joshua P.; Fu, Richard; Jiang, Rongzhong; Chu, Deryn

2018-01-01

Harvesting light to drive water splitting for hydrogen generation is an attractive approach to satisfy the urgent energy demands. The design and fabrication of photoelectrode materials that are able to harvest sunlight is an important scientific undertaking. In this study, a two-quantum-dot (QD) layer is developed to decorate one-dimensional TiO2 nanorod arrays, which are subsequently utilized as photoanodes to harvest the wide-spectrum sunlight for water splitting. The QD-coated TiO2 nanorod arrays extend the light absorption range from the UV into the visible region yielding increased solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies. Transient photocurrent decay measurements demonstrate that the multi-layer CdSe-CdS QDs deposited onto the TiO2 nanorod arrays result in a stepwise band alignment that not only improves the hole extraction but also facilitates electron injection from the QDs to TiO2 rods. Moreover, the multi-heterojunction photoanode introduces interfacial states that act as recombination centers to trap the photogenerated electrons.

Tunable photovoltaic performance of preferentially oriented rutile TiO₂ nanorod photoanodes based dye sensitized solar cells with quasi-state electrolyte.

PubMed

T C, Sabari Girisun; C, Jeganathan; N, Pavithra; Anandan, Sambandam

2017-12-20

Photoanodes made of highly oriented TiO2 nanorod arrays with different aspect ratios were synthesized via one-step hydrothermal technique. Preferentially oriented single crystalline rutile TiO2 was confirmed by the single peak in XRD pattern (2θ=63o, (0 0 2)). FESEM image evidence the growth of an array of nanorods having different geometry with respect to reaction time and solution refreshment rate. The length, diameter and aspect ratio of the nanorods increased with reaction time as 4 hours (1.98 μm, 121 nm, 15.32), 8 hours (4 μm, 185 nm, 22.70), 12 hours (5.6 μm, 242 nm, 27.24) and 16 hours (8 μm, 254 nm, 38.02) respectively. Unlike conventional Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) with a liquid electrolyte, DSSC were fabricated here using 1D rutile TiO2 nanorods based photoanodes, N719 dye and quasi-state electrolyte. The charge transport properties were investigated from current-voltage curves and fitted using one-diode model. Interestingly photovoltaic performance of DSSCs increased exponentially with the length of the nanorod and is attributed to the higher surface to volume ratio, more dye anchoring, and channelized electron transport. Higher photovoltaic performance (Jsc=5.99 mA/cm2, Voc=750 mV, η=3.08%) was observed with photoanodes (16 hours) made of densely packed longest TiO2 nanorods (8 µm, 254 nm). © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Enhancement of Energy Conversion Efficiency for Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Using Zinc Oxide Photoanode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamalullail, N.; Smohamad, I.; Nnorizan, M.; Mahmed, N.

2018-06-01

Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a third generation solar cell that is well known for its low cost, simple fabrication process and promised reasonable energy conversion efficiency. Basic structure of DSSC is composed of photoanode, dye sensitizer, electrolyte that is sandwiched together in between two transparent conductive oxide (TCO) glasses. Each of the components in the DSSC contributes important role that affect the energy conversion efficiency. In this research, the commonly used titanium dioxide (TiO2) photoanode has previously reported to have high recombination rate and low electron mobility which caused efficiency loss had been compared with the zinc oxide (ZnO) photoanode with high electron mobility (155 cm2V-1s-1). Both of these photoanodes had been deposited through doctor blade technique. The electrical performance of the laboratory based DSSCs were tested using solar cell simulator and demonstrated that ZnO is a better photoanode compared to TiO2 with the energy conversion efficiency of 0.34% and 0.29% respectively. Nanorods shape morphology was observed in ZnO photoanode with average particle size of 41.60 nm and average crystallite size of 19.13 nm. This research proved that the energy conversion efficiency of conventional TiO2 based photoanode can be improved using ZnO material.

Morphological study of electrophoretically deposited TiO2 film for DSSC application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Alkesh B.; Patel, K. D.; Soni, S. S.; Sonigara, K. K.

2018-05-01

In the immerging field of eco-friendly and low cost photovoltaic devices, dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) [1] has been investigated as promising alternative to the conventional silicon-based solar cells. In the DSSC device, photoanode is crucial component that take charge of holding sensitizer on it and inject the electrons from the sensitizer to current collector. Nanoporous TiO2 is the most relevant candidate for the preparation of photoanode in DSSCs. Surface properties, morphology, porosity and thickness of TiO2 film as well as preparation technique determine the performance of device. In the present work we have report the study of an effect of nanoporous anatase titanium dioxide (TiO2) film thickness on DSSC performance. Photoanode TiO2 (P25) film was deposited on conducting substrate by electrophoresis technique (EPD) and film thickness was controlled during deposition by applying different current density for a constant time interval. Thickness and surface morphology of prepared films was studied by SEM and transmittance analysis. The same set of photoanode was utilized in DSSC devices using metal free organic dye sensitizer to evaluate the photovoltaic performance. Devices were characterized through Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristic, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and open circuit voltage decay curves. Dependency of device performance corresponding to TiO2 film thickness is investigated through the lifetime kinetics of electron charge transfer mechanism trough impedance fitting. It is concluded that appropriate thickness along with uniformity and porosity are required to align the dye molecules to respond efficiently the incident light photons.

Combined Embedding of N/F-Doping and CaCO3 Surface Modification in the TiO2 Photoanode for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

PubMed

Park, Su Kyung; Yun, Tae Kwan; Bae, Jae Young

2016-03-01

N/F-doping and CaCO3 surface modification was carried out in TiO2 photoelectrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The combined effect of the N/F doped TiO2 and the CaCO3 coating showed a great increase of the short-circuit current (J(sc)), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of the prepared cells; the efficiency (η) was improved from 7.00% of a commercial TiO2 photoelectrode to 7.90% of an uncoated N/F-doped electrode, and to 9.09% of a N/F-doped and CaCO3 surface modified electrode. An enhanced photoresponse in N/F-doped TiO2 nanoparticles generate more photo-excited electrons, as supported by measured UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. A successive CaCO3 surface modification then forms a barrier on the surface of the N/F-doped TiO2 particles; the higher basicity of the CaCO3 modified TiO2 facilitates the dye adsorption, as supported by the direct measurement of the amount of adsorbed dye.

Titanium mesh supported TiO2 nanowire arrays/upconversion luminescence Er3+-Yb3+ codoped TiO2 nanoparticles novel composites for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wenwu; Zhang, Huanyu; Wang, Hui-gang; Zhang, Mei; Guo, Min

2017-11-01

Ti-mesh supported TiO2 nanowire arrays (NWAs)/upconversion luminescence Er3+-Yb3+ codoped TiO2 nanoparticles (UC-EY-TiO2 NPs) composite structured photoanodes for fully flexible dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were firstly constructed via a hydrothermal and spin coating process. UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra of the TiO2 NWAs/UC-EY-TiO2 NPs composites exhibited strong absorption around near infrared (NIR) 980 nm. The composites excited by 980 nm NIR laser could emit upconversion fluorescence at 489, 526, 549 and 658 nm, which expanded the spectral response range and sunlight capturing capability of formed flexible DSSCs. Moreover, the TiO2 NWAs/UC-EY-TiO2 NPs was coated with an Nb2O5 thin layer to further suppress electron recombination losses. The complete flexible DSSCs based on Nb2O5 coated TiO2 NWAs/2.0 mol% Er3+-1.0 mol% Yb3+ codoped TiO2 NPs photoanode and Pt/ITO-PEN counter electrode exhibited an enhanced photon to current conversion efficiency of 8.10%, a 68% improvement compared to TiO2 NWAs/undoped TiO2 NPs based DSSCs (4.82%).

Optical spectroscopy of rare earth ion-doped TiO2 nanophosphors.

PubMed

Chen, Xueyuan; Luo, Wenqin

2010-03-01

Trivalent rare-earth (RE3+) ion-doped TiO2 nanophosphors belong to one kind of novel optical materials and have attracted increasing attention. The luminescence properties of different RE3+ ions in various TiO2 nanomaterials have been reviewed. Much attention is paid to our recent progresses on the luminescence properties of RE3+ (RE = Eu, Er, Sm, Nd) ions in anatase TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by a sol-gel-solvothermal method. Using Eu3+ as a sensitive optical probe, three significantly different luminescence centers of Eu3+ in TiO2 nanoparticles were detected by means of site-selective spectroscopy at 10 K. Based on the crystal-field (CF) splitting of Eu3+ at each site, C2v and D2 symmetries were proposed for Eu3+ incorporated at two lattice sites. A structural model for the formation of multiple sites was proposed based on the optical behaviors of Eu3+ at different sites. Similar multi-site luminescence was observed in Sm(3+)- or Nd(3+)-doped TiO2 nanoparticles. In Eu(3+)-doped TiO2 nanoparticles, only weak energy transfer from the TiO2 host to the Eu3+ ions was observed at 10 K due to the mismatch of energy between the TiO2 band-gap and the Eu3+ excited states. On the contrary, efficient host-sensitized luminescences were realized in Sm(3+)- or Nd(3+)-doped anatase TiO2 nanoparticles due to the match of energy between TiO2 band-gap and the Sm3+ and Nd3+ excited states. The excitation spectra of both Sm(3+)- and Nd(3+)-doped samples exhibit a dominant broad peak centered at approximately 340 nm, which is associated with the band-gap of TiO2, indicating that sensitized emission is much more efficient than direct excitation of the Sm3+ and Nd3+ ions. Single lattice site emission of Er3+ in TiO2 nanocrystals can be achieved by modifying the experimental conditions. Upon excitation by a Ti: sapphire laser at 978 nm, intense green upconverted luminescence was observed. The characteristic emission of Er3+ ions was obtained both in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and

Impact of Mg-ion implantation with various fluence ranges on optical properties of n-type GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuge, Hirofumi; Ikeda, Kiyoji; Kato, Shigeki; Nishimura, Tomoaki; Nakamura, Tohru; Kuriyama, Kazuo; Mishima, Tomoyoshi

2017-10-01

Optical characteristics of Mg-ion implanted GaN layers with various fluence ranges were evaluated. Mg ion implantation was performed twice at energies of 30 and 60 keV on n-GaN layers. The first implantation at 30 keV was performed with three different fluence ranges of 1.0 × 1014, 1.0 × 1015 and 5.0 × 1015 cm-2. The second implantation at an energy of 60 keV was performed with a fluence of 6.5 × 1013 cm-2. After implantation, samples were annealed at 1250 °C for 1 min under N2 atmosphere. Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the GaN layer with the Mg ion implantation at the fluence range of 1.0 × 1014 cm-2 at 30 keV was similar to the one of Mg-doped p-GaN layers grown by MOVPE (Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy) on free-standing GaN substrates and those at the fluence ranges over 1.0 × 1015 cm-2 were largely degraded.

Effects of Mn Ion Implantation on XPS Spectroscopy of GaN Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majid, Abdul; Ahmad, Naeem; Rizwan, Muhammad; Khan, Salah Ud-Din; Ali, Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed; Zhu, Jianjun

2018-02-01

Gallium nitride (GaN) thin film was deposited onto a sapphire substrate and then implanted with 250 keV Mn ions at two different doses of 2 × 1016 ions/cm2 and 5 × 1016 ions/cm2. The as-grown and post-implantation-thermally-annealed samples were studied in detail using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS peaks of Ga 3 d, Ga 2 p, N 1 s, Mn 2 p and C 1 s were recorded in addition to a full survey of the samples. The doublet peaks of Ga 2 p for pure GaN were observed blue-shifted when compared with elemental Ga, and appeared further shifted to higher energies for the implanted samples. These observations point to changes in the bonds and the chemical environment of the host as a result of ion implantation. The results revealed broadening of the N 1 s peak after implantation, which is interpreted in terms of the presence of N-Mn bonds in addition to N-Ga bonds. The XPS spectra of Mn 2 p recorded for ion-implanted samples indicated splitting of Mn 2 p 1/2 and Mn 2 p 3/2 peaks higher than that for metallic Mn, which helps rule out the possibility of clustering and points to substitutional doping of Mn. These observations provide a framework that sheds light on the local environment of the material for understanding the mechanism of magnetic exchange interactions in Mn:GaN based diluted magnetic semiconductors.

RBS, TEM and SEM Characterization of Gold Nanoclusters in TiO2(110)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shutthanandan, V; Zhang, Yanwen; Wang, Chong M.

2004-05-01

Nucleation of gold nanoclusters in TiO2(110) single crystal using ion implantation and subsequent annealing were studied by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry /channeling (RBS/C), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Approximately 1000 Au2+/nm2 was implanted at room temperature in TiO2(110) substrates. TEM and SEM measurements revel that rounded nanoclusters were formed during the implantation. In contrast subsequent annealing in air for 10 hours at 1275 K promoted the formation of faceted (rectangular shaped) Au nano structures in TiO2. RBS channeling measurements further reveled that Au atoms randomly occupied in the host TiO2 lattice during the implantation. However, some ofmore » the gold atoms were moved into the Ti lattice position after annealing.« less

Calculation of DSSC parameters based on ZnO nanorod/TiO2 mesoporous photoanode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safriani, L.; Nurrida, A.; Mulyana, C.; Susilawati, T.; Bahtiar, A.; Aprilia, A.

2017-07-01

Photoanode of dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) plays an important role as electron transport media to accept photogenerated electron from excited state of dye. There are several physical properties that are required from photoanode of DSSC. It should be highly transparent, have large surface area, has a conduction band lower than LUMO of dye molecule, has high charge carrier mobility and finally has a good stability in redox electrolyte process. In this work, DSSC with structure FTO/ZnO nanorod/TiO2 mesoporous/Ru-dye/gel electrolyte/ Pt/FTO has been fabricated. In order to modified the structures of photoanode, ZnO nanorod was grown on aluminium doped ZnO seed layer by variation concentration of Al (0 wt%, 0.5 wt% and 1.0 wt%). Zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine used as raw materials for ZnO nanorod growth solution and deposited by self-assembly methods on FTO/Al doped ZnO seed layer. It is then followed by deposition of titania (TiO2) paste by screen printing methods. DSSC parameters i.e. ideally factor (n), series resistance (RS ), and shunt resistance (RSH ) was derived from current density-voltage (I-V) curve using the simplify equation of ideal diode model. The influences of ZnO photoanode structures to the solar cell performance will be completely discussed.

Photoelectrochemical studies of InGaN/GaN MQW photoanodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butson, Joshua; Reddy Narangari, Parvathala; Krishna Karuturi, Siva; Yew, Rowena; Lysevych, Mykhaylo; Tan, Hark Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati

2018-01-01

The research interest in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is ever growing due to its potential to contribute towards clean and portable energy. However, the lack of low energy band gap materials with high photocorrosion resistance is the primary setback inhibiting this technology from commercialisation. The ternary alloy InGaN shows promise to meet the photoelectrode material requirements due to its high chemical stability and band gap tunability. The band gap of InGaN can be modulated from the UV to IR regions by adjusting the In concentration so as to absorb the maximum portion of the solar spectrum. This paper reports on the influence of In concentration on the PEC properties of planar and nanopillar (NP) InGaN/GaN multi-quantum well (MQW) photoanodes, where NPs were fabricated using a top-down approach. Results show that changing the In concentration, while having a minor effect on the PEC performance of planar MQWs, has an enormous impact on the PEC performance of NP MQWs, with large variations in the photocurrent density observed. Planar photoanodes containing MQWs generate marginally lower photocurrents compared to photoanodes without MQWs when illuminated with sunlight. NP MQWs with 30% In generated the highest photocurrent density of 1.6 mA cm-2, 4 times greater than that of its planar counterpart and 1.8 times greater than that of the NP photoanode with no MQWs. The InGaN/GaN MQWs also slightly influenced the onset potential of both the planar and NP photoanodes. Micro-photoluminescence, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and IPCE measurements are used to explain these results.

Extremely enhanced photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized solar cells by sintering mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes with crystalline titania chelated by acetic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bo-Tau; Chou, Ya-Hui; Liu, Jin-Yan

2016-04-01

The study presents a significant improvement on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through incorporating the crystalline titania chelated by acetic acid (TAc) into the mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes. The effects of TAc on the blocking layer, mesoporous TiO2 layer, and post-treatment have been investigated. The TAc blocking layer displays compact construction, revealing superior response time and resistance to suppress dark current compared to the blocking layer made from titanium(IV) isopropoxide (TTIP). The power conversion efficiency of DSSCs with the TAc treatment can reach as high as 10.49%, which is much higher than that of pristine DSSCs (5.67%) and that of DSSCs treated by TTIP (7.86%). We find that the TAc incorporation can lead to the decrease of charge transfer resistance and the increase of dye adsorption. The result may be attributed to the fact that the TAc possesses high crystallinity, exposed (101) planes, and acid groups chelated on surface, which are favorable for dye attachment and strong bonding at the FTO/TiO2 and the TiO2/TiO2 interfaces, These improvements result in the remarkable increase of photocurrent and thereby that of power conversion efficiency.

Enhanced photoelectrical performance of dye-sensitized solar cells with double-layer TiO2 on perovskite SrTiO3 substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Qiuhong; Sun, Qiong; Zhang, Min; Li, Yang; Zhao, Mei; Dong, Lifeng

2016-04-01

In this research, perovskite SrTiO3 particles are synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and TiO2 with a double-layer structure is grown on the SrTiO3 surface by a hydrolysis-condensation process. Structural characterizations reveal that TiO2 comprises of two phases: anatase film at the bottom and single-crystal rutile nanorods grown along the [110] direction on top. The TiO2-SrTiO3 composite film is investigated as photoanode material for dye-sensitized solar cells. In comparison with pure TiO2 and SrTiO3, the composite photoanode shows a much better performance in photoelectric conversion efficiency (1.35 %), which is about 2 and 100 times as efficient as pure TiO2 and SrTiO3, respectively. This indicates that the composite structure can facilitate charge carrier transfer and reduce electron-hole recombination to enhance photoelectrical properties of TiO2-based photoanode materials.

TiO2 film decorated with highly dispersed polyoxometalate nanoparticles synthesized by micelle directed method for the efficiency enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Lifei; Chen, Li; Zhao, Yue; Chen, Weilin; Shan, Chunhui; Su, Zhongmin; Wang, Enbo

2016-10-01

In this work, two kinds of polyoxometalate (POM) nanoparticles with controlled shapes and structures were synthesized by micelle directed method and then composited with TiO2 via calcination to remove the surfactants owing to the excellent electronic storage and transmission ability of POM, finally obtaining two kinds of TiO2 composites with highly dispersed and small-sized POM nanoparticles (∼1 nm). The TiO2 composites were then induced into the photoanodes of dye-sensitized (N719) solar cells (DSSCs). The separation of electron-holes becomes more favorable due to the nanostructure and high dispersion of POM which provide more active sites than pure POM tending to agglomeration. The TiO2 composite photoanodes finally yielded the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.4% and 8.2%, respectively, which were 42% and 39% higher than the pristine TiO2 based anodes. In addition, the mechanisms of POM in DSSC are proposed.

The Effect of Ag and Ag+N Ion Implantation on Cell Attachment Properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Urkac, Emel Sokullu; Oztarhan, Ahmet; Gurhan, Ismet Deliloglu

2009-03-10

Implanted biomedical prosthetic devices are intended to perform safely, reliably and effectively in the human body thus the materials used for orthopedic devices should have good biocompatibility. Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene (UHMWPE) has been commonly used for total hip joint replacement because of its very good properties. In this work, UHMWPE samples were Ag and Ag+N ion implanted by using the Metal-Vapor Vacuum Arc (MEVVA) ion implantation technique. Samples were implanted with a fluency of 1017 ion/cm2 and extraction voltage of 30 kV. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) was used for surface studies. RBS showed the presence of Agmore » and N on the surface. Cell attachment properties investigated with model cell lines (L929 mouse fibroblasts) to demonstrate that the effect of Ag and Ag+N ion implantation can favorably influence the surface of UHMWPE for biomedical applications. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to demonstrate the cell attachment on the surface. Study has shown that Ag+N ion implantation represents more effective cell attachment properties on the UHMWPE surfaces.« less

Fluorine-doping in titanium dioxide by ion implantation technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamaki, T.; Umebayashi, T.; Sumita, T.; Yamamoto, S.; Maekawa, M.; Kawasuso, A.; Itoh, H.

2003-05-01

We implanted 200 keV F + in single crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO 2) rutile at a nominal fluence of 1 × 10 16 to 1 × 10 17 ions cm -2 and then thermally annealed the implanted sample in air. The radiation damage and its recovery process during the annealing were analyzed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling geometry and variable-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy. The lattice disorder was completely recovered at 1200 °C by the migration of point defects to the surface. According to secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, the F depth profile was shifted to a shallower region along with the damage recovery and this resulted in the formation of an F-doped layer where the impurity concentration steadily increased toward the surface. The F doping proved to provide a modification to the conduction-band edge of TiO 2, as assessed by theoretical band calculations.

Quantum dot sensitized solar cell based on TiO2/CdS/Ag2S heterostructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawar, Sachin A.; Patil, Dipali S.; Kim, Jin Hyeok; Patil, Pramod S.; Shin, Jae Cheol

2017-04-01

Quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) is fabricated based on a stepwise band structure of TiO2/CdS/Ag2S to improve the photoconversion efficiency of TiO2/CdS system by incorporating a low band gap Ag2S QDs. Vertically aligned TiO2 nanorods assembly is prepared by a simple hydrothermal technique. The formation of CdS and Ag2S QDs over TiO2 nanorods assembly as a photoanode is carried out by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The synthesized electrode materials are characterized by XRD, XPS, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Optical, solar cell and electrochemical performances. The results designate that the QDs of CdS and Ag2S have efficiently covered exterior surfaces of TiO2 nanorods assembly. A cautious evaluation between TiO2/CdS and TiO2/CdS/Ag2S sensitized cells tells that CdS and Ag2S synergetically helps to enhance the light harvesting ability. Under AM 1.5G illumination, the photoanodes show an improved power conversion efficiency of 1.87%, in an aqueous polysulfide electrolyte with short-circuit photocurrent density of 7.03 mA cm-2 which is four fold higher than that of a TiO2/CdS system.

Effects of vanadium ion implantation on microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of TiN coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Bin; Tao, Ye; Guo, Deliang

2012-09-01

TiN coatings were deposited on the substrates of cemented carbide (WC-TiC-Co) by Magnetic Filter Arc Ion Plating (MFAIP) and then implanted with vanadium through Metal Vacuum Vapor Arc (MEVVA) ion source with the doses of 1 × 1017 and 5 × 1017 ions/cm2 at 40 kV. The microstructures and chemical compositions of the V-implanted TiN coatings were investigated using Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), together with the mechanical and tribological properties of coatings were characterized using nano-indentation and ball-on-disk tribometer. It was found that the diffraction peaks of the V-implanted TiN coatings at the doses of 5 × 1017 ions/cm2 shifted to higher angles and became broader. The hardness and elastic modulus of TiN coatings increased after V ion implantation. The wear mechanism for both un-implanted and V-implanted TiN coatings against GCr15 steel ball was adhesive wear, and the V-implanted TiN coatings had a lower friction coefficient as well as a better wear resistance

TiO2 hierarchical porous film constructed by ultrastable foams as photoanode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Xing; He, Xuan; Zhao, Lei; Chen, Hui; Li, Weixin; Fang, Wei; Zhang, Wanqiu; Wang, Junjie; Chen, Huan

2016-11-01

It reported a novel and simple method for the first time to prepare TiO2 hierarchical porous film (THPF) using ultrastable foams as a soft template to construct porous structures. Moreover, dodecanol as one foam component was creatively used as solvent during the synthesis of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) to decrease reaction temperature and simplify precipitation process. The result showed that hierarchical pores in scale of microns introduced by foams were regarded to benefit for high coverage and unimodal distribution of QDs on the surface of THPF to increase the efficiencies of light-harvesting, charge-collection and charge-transfer. The increased efficiencies caused an enhancement in quantum efficiency of the cell and thus remarkably increased the short circuit current density (Jsc). In addition, the decrease of charge recombination resulted in the increase of the open circuit voltage (Voc) as well. The QDSSC based on THPF exhibited about 2-fold higher power conversion efficiency (η = 2.20%, Jsc = 13.82 mA cm-2, Voc = 0.572 V) than that of TiO2 nanoparticles film (TNF) (η = 1.06%, Jsc = 6.70 mA cm-2, Voc = 0.505 V). It provided a basis to use foams both as soft template and carrier to realize simultaneously construction and in-situ sensitization of photoanode in further work.

Positron annihilation lifetime characterization of oxygen ion irradiated rutile TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luitel, Homnath; Sarkar, A.; Chakrabarti, Mahuya; Chattopadhyay, S.; Asokan, K.; Sanyal, D.

2016-07-01

Ferromagnetic ordering at room temperature has been induced in rutile phase of TiO2 polycrystalline sample by O ion irradiation. 96 MeV O ion induced defects in rutile TiO2 sample has been characterized by positron annihilation spectroscopic techniques. Positron annihilation results indicate the formation of cation vacancy (VTi, Ti vacancy) in these irradiated TiO2 samples. Ab initio density functional theoretical calculations indicate that in TiO2 magnetic moment can be induced either by creating Ti or O vacancies.

Nanographite-TiO2 photoanode for dye sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, S. S.; Sharma, Khushboo; Sharma, Vinay

2016-05-01

Nanographite-TiO2 (NG-TiO2) composite was successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method and its performance as the photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. Environmental Scanning electron microscope (E-SEM) micrographs show the uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoflowers deposited over nanographite sheets. The average performance characteristics of the assembled cell in terms of short-ciruit current density (JSC), open circuit voltage (VOC), fill factor (FF) and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) were measured.

Complex damage distribution behaviour in cobalt implanted rutile TiO2 (1 1 0) lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Shalik Ram; Padmanabhan, B.; Chanda, Anupama; Ojha, Sunil; Kanjilal, D.; Varma, Shikha

2017-11-01

The present work investigates the radiation damage, amorphization and structural modifications that are produced by ion-solid interactions in TiO2 crystals during 200 keV Cobalt ion implantation. RBS/C and GIXRD have been utilized to evaluate the damage in the host lattice as a function of ion fluence. Multiple scattering formalism has been applied to extract the depth dependent damage distributions in TiO2(1 1 0). The results have been compared with the MC simulations performed using SRIM-2013. RBS/C results delineate a buried amorphous layer at a low fluence. Surprisingly, ion induced dynamic activation produces a recovery in this damage at higher fluences. This improvement interestingly occurs only in deep regions (60-300 nm) where a systematic lowering in damage with fluence is observed. Formation of Co-Ti-O phases and generation of stress in TiO2 lattice can also be responsible for this improvement in deep regions. In contrast, surface region (0-60 nm) indicates a gradual increase in damage with fluence. Such a switch in the damage behavior creates a cross point in damage profiles at 60 nm. Surface region is a sink of vacancies whereas deep layers are interstitial rich. However, these regions are far separated from each other resulting in an intermediate (100-150 nm) region with a significant dip (valley) in damage which can be characterized by enhanced recombination of point defects. The damage profiles thus indicate a very complex behavior. MC simulations, however, present very different results. They depict a damage profile that extends to a depth of only 150 nm, which is only about half of the damage- width observed here via RBS/C. Moreover, MC simulations do not indicate presence of any valley like structure in the damage profile. The complex nature of damage distribution observed here via RBS/C may be related to the high ionic nature of the chemical bonds in the TiO2 lattice.

Above room temperature ferromagnetism in Si:Mn and TiO(2-delta)Co.

PubMed

Granovsky, A; Orlov, A; Perov, N; Gan'shina, E; Semisalova, A; Balagurov, L; Kulemanov, I; Sapelkin, A; Rogalev, A; Smekhova, A

2012-09-01

We present recent experimental results on the structural, electrical, magnetic, and magneto-optical properties of Mn-implanted Si and Co-doped TiO(2-delta) magnetic oxides. Si wafers, both n- and p-type, with high and low resistivity, were used as the starting materials for implantation with Mn ions at the fluencies up to 5 x 10(16) cm(-2). The saturation magnetization was found to show the lack of any regular dependence on the Si conductivity type, type of impurity and the short post-implantation annealing. According to XMCD Mn impurity in Si does not bear any appreciable magnetic moment at room temperature. The obtained results indicate that above room temperature ferromagnetism in Mn-implanted Si originates not from Mn impurity but rather from structural defects in Si. The TiO(2-delta):Co thin films were deposited on LaAlO3 (001) substrates by magnetron sputtering in the argon-oxygen atmosphere at oxygen partial pressure of 2 x 10(-6)-2 x 10(-4) Torr. The obtained transverse Kerr effect spectra at the visible and XMCD spectra indicate on intrinsic room temperature ferromagnetism in TiO(2-delta):Co thin films at low (< 1%) volume fraction of Co.

Oxygen depth profiling by resonant RBS in NiTi after plasma immersion ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mändl, S.; Lindner, J. K. N.

2006-08-01

NiTi exhibits super-elastic as well as shape-memory properties, which results in a large potential application field in biomedical technology. Using oxygen ion implantation at elevated temperatures, it is possible to improve the biocompatibility. Resonant Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RRBS) is used to investigate the oxygen depth profile obtained after oxygen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) at 25 kV and 400-600 °C. At all temperatures, a layered structure consisting of TiO2/Ni3Ti/NiTi was found with sharp interfaces while no discernible content of oxygen inside Ni3Ti or nickel in TiO2 was found. These data are compatible with a titanium diffusion from the bulk towards the implanted oxygen.

Progress in nanostructured photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xueyang; Fang, Jian; Liu, Yong; Lin, Tong

2016-09-01

Solar cells represent a principal energy technology to convert light into electricity. Commercial solar cells are at present predominately produced by single- or multi-crystalline silicon wafers. The main drawback to silicon-based solar cells, however, is high material and manufacturing costs. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted much attention during recent years because of the low production cost and other advantages. The photoanode (working electrode) plays a key role in determining the performance of DSSCs. In particular, nanostructured photoanodes with a large surface area, high electron transfer efficiency, and low electron recombination facilitate to prepare DSSCs with high energy conversion efficiency. In this review article, we summarize recent progress in the development of novel photoanodes for DSSCs. Effect of semiconductor material (e.g. TiO2, ZnO, SnO2, N2O5, and nano carbon), preparation, morphology and structure (e.g. nanoparticles, nanorods, nanofibers, nanotubes, fiber/particle composites, and hierarchical structure) on photovoltaic performance of DSSCs is described. The possibility of replacing silicon-based solar cells with DSSCs is discussed.

Characterisation of Cs ion implanted GaN by DLTS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngoepe, P. N. M.; Meyer, W. E.; Auret, F. D.; Omotoso, E.; Hlatshwayo, T. T.; Diale, M.

2018-04-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to characterise Cs implanted GaN grown by hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE). This implantation was done at room temperature using energy of 360 keV to a fluence of 10-11 cm-2. A defect with activation energy of 0.19 eV below the conduction band and an apparent capture cross section of 1.1 × 10-15 cm2 was induced. This defect has previously been observed after rare earth element (Eu, Er and Pr) implantation. It has also been reported after electron, proton and He ion implantation.

Probing interfacial energetics and charge transfer kinetics in semiconductor nanocomposites: New insights into heterostructured TiO 2/BiVO 4 photoanodes

DOE PAGES

Hess, Lucas H.; Cooper, Jason K.; Loiudice, Anna; ...

2017-02-28

Heterostructured nanocomposites offer promise for creating systems exhibiting functional properties that exceed those of the isolated components. For solar energy conversion, such combinations of semiconducting nanomaterials can be used to direct charge transfer along pathways that reduce recombination and promote efficient charge extraction. However, interfacial energetics and associated kinetic pathways often differ significantly from predictions derived from the characteristics of pure component materials, particularly at the nanoscale. Here, the emergent properties of TiO 2/BiVO 4 nanocomposite photoanodes are explored using a combination of X-ray and optical spectroscopies, together with photoelectrochemical (PEC) characterization. Application of these methods to both the puremore » components and the fully assembled nanocomposites reveals unpredicted interfacial energetic alignment, which promotes ultrafast injection of electrons from BiVO 4 into TiO 2. Physical charge separation yields extremely long-lived photoexcited states and correspondingly enhanced photoelectrochemical functionality. This work highlights the importance of probing emergent interfacial energetic alignment and kinetic processes for understanding mechanisms of solar energy conversion in complex nanocomposites.« less

Facile synthesis of GO@SnO2/TiO2 nanofibers and their behavior in photovoltaics.

PubMed

Mohamed, Ibrahim M A; Dao, Van-Duong; Yasin, Ahmed S; Choi, Ho-Suk; Khalil, KhalilAbdelrazek; Barakat, Nasser A M

2017-03-15

Chemical doping is a widely-used strategy to improve the performance of TiO 2 for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). However, the effect of two efficient dopants has been rarely investigated. We present the synthesis of GO@SnO 2 /TiO 2 nanofibers (NFs) by a facile method using electrospinning and hydrothermal processes. The synthesized NFs are described in terms of morphology, crystallinity and chemistry through FESEM, TEM, HR-TEM, XRD, EDX, XPS, FT-IR and Raman spectra. As the results, the axial ratio and the average diameter of NFs decreased after the hydrothermal treatment and calcination process, respectively. The prepared Titania-based nanofibers have 81.82% anatase and 18.18% rutile-structure. The developed materials are applied as working electrodes of DSCs. The photovoltaic performances showed that the efficiency of the device employed GO@SnO 2 /TiO 2 photoanode gave 5.41%, which was higher than those of cells fabricated with SnO 2 /TiO 2 NFs (3.41%) and GO@TiO 2 NFs (4.52%) photoanodes. The photovoltaic parameters such as J sc , V oc , FF and R ct are calculated and found to be 11.19mAcm -2 , 0.72V, 0.67 and 9.26Ω, respectively. The high photovoltaic response of DSC based of GO@SnO 2 /TiO 2 NFs may be attributed to the large surface area of the NFs, and the low electron recombination. Furthermore, the start-stop switches of the cell devices with the developed photoanode affirmed the stability and photovoltaic performance of the cell. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formation of hydroxyl radicals and kinetic study of 2-chlorophenol photocatalytic oxidation using C-doped TiO2, N-doped TiO2, and C,N Co-doped TiO2 under visible light.

PubMed

Ananpattarachai, Jirapat; Seraphin, Supapan; Kajitvichyanukul, Puangrat

2016-02-01

This work reports on synthesis, characterization, adsorption ability, formation rate of hydroxyl radicals (OH(•)), photocatalytic oxidation kinetics, and mineralization ability of C-doped titanium dioxide (TiO2), N-doped TiO2, and C,N co-doped TiO2 prepared by the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible spectroscopy were used to analyze the titania. The rate of formation of OH(•) for each type of titania was determined, and the OH-index was calculated. The kinetics of as-synthesized TiO2 catalysts in photocatalytic oxidation of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) under visible light irradiation were evaluated. Results revealed that nitrogen was incorporated into the lattice of titania with the structure of O-Ti-N linkages in N-doped TiO2 and C,N co-doped TiO2. Carbon was joined to the Ti-O-C bond in the C-doped TiO2 and C,N co-doped TiO2. The 2-CP adsorption ability of C,N co-doped TiO2 and C-doped TiO2 originated from a layer composed of a complex carbonaceous mixture at the surface of TiO2. C,N co-doped TiO2 had highest formation rate of OH(•) and photocatalytic activity due to a synergistic effect of carbon and nitrogen co-doping. The order of photocatalytic activity per unit surface area was the same as that of the formation rate of OH(•) unit surface area in the following order: C,N co-doped TiO2 > C-doped TiO2 > N-doped TiO2 > undoped TiO2.

ZnO Photoanode Effect on the Efficiency Performance of Organic Based Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamad, I. S.; Ismail, S. S.; Norizan, M. N.; Murad, S. A. Z.; Abdullah, M. M. A.

2017-06-01

Dye sensitized solar cell has been emerged as one of the most promising candidates for photovoltaics applications in good quality of their low manufacturing cost and impressive conversion energy. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) which is used as photoanode in the market has the advantage of wide bandgap energy but low in electron mobility (∼10 cm2/(V.s)). Ruthenium in the other hand, as the dye sensitizer is a rare noble metal and harmful to human health. Thus, this article reveals the performance of photo-to-electric conversion efficiency with the usage of Zinc Oxide as photoanode with higher electron mobility (155 cm2/(V.s)) compared to TiO2 utilizing three natural fruit dyes of Prunus domestica, Magnifera indica and Citrus limon. ZnO and TiO2 photoanodes were fabricated using sol gel and dr blade method respectively. The morphology of the photoanodes were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope and the efficiency of the complete DSSC with all different fruit dyes were characterized using Semiconductor Parametric Analyzer. The different property of electron mobility photoanodes effect in DSSC proved to give better performance with the photoconversion efficiency of 3.082% using ZnO with Prunus domestica dye. This article also reveals that pH indicator does not affect the selection and the performance of DSSC.

Mesoporous TiO2 Bragg Stack Templated by Graft Copolymer for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

PubMed Central

Park, Jung Tae; Chi, Won Seok; Kim, Sang Jin; Lee, Daeyeon; Kim, Jong Hak

2014-01-01

Organized mesoporous TiO2 Bragg stacks (om-TiO2 BS) consisting of alternating high and low refractive index organized mesoporous TiO2 (om-TiO2) films were prepared to enhance dye loading, light harvesting, electron transport, and electrolyte pore-infiltration in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The om-TiO2 films were synthesized via a sol-gel reaction using amphiphilic graft copolymers consisting of poly(vinyl chloride) backbones and poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) side chains, i.e., PVC-g-POEM as templates. To generate high and low index films, the refractive index of om-TiO2 film was tuned by controlling the grafting ratio of PVC-g-POEM via atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). A polymerized ionic liquid (PIL)-based DSSC fabricated with a 1.2-μm-thick om-TiO2 BS-based photoanode exhibited an efficiency of 4.3%, which is much higher than that of conventional DSSCs with a nanocrystalline TiO2 layer (nc-TiO2 layer) (1.7%). A PIL-based DSSC with a heterostructured photoanode consisting of 400-nm-thick organized mesoporous TiO2 interfacial (om-TiO2 IF) layer, 7-μm-thick nc-TiO2, and 1.2-μm-thick om-TiO2 BS as the bottom, middle and top layers, respectively, exhibited an excellent efficiency of 7.5%, which is much higher than that of nanocrystaline TiO2 photoanode (3.5%). PMID:24980936

Lattice disorder produced in GaN by He-ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yi; Peng, Jinxin; Li, Bingsheng; Wang, Zhiguang; Wei, Kongfang; Shen, Tielong; Sun, Jianrong; Zhang, Limin; Yao, Cunfeng; Gao, Ning; Gao, Xing; Pang, Lilong; Zhu, Yabin; Chang, Hailong; Cui, Minghuan; Luo, Peng; Sheng, Yanbin; Zhang, Hongpeng; Zhang, Li; Fang, Xuesong; Zhao, Sixiang; Jin, Jin; Huang, Yuxuan; Liu, Chao; Tai, Pengfei; Wang, Dong; He, Wenhao

2017-09-01

The lattice disorders induced by He-ion implantation in GaN epitaxial films to fluences of 2 × 1016, 5 × 1016 and 1 × 1017 cm-2 at room temperature (RT) have been investigated by a combination of Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), nano-indentation, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The experimental results present that Raman intensity decreases with increasing fluence. Raman frequency "red shift" occurs after He-ion implantation. Strain increases with increasing fluence. The hardness of the highly damaged layer increases monotonically with increasing fluence. Microstructural results demonstrate that the width of the damage band and the number density of observed dislocation loops increases with increasing fluence. High-resolution TEM images exhibit that He-ion implantation lead to the formation of planar defects and most of the lattice defects are of interstitial-type basal loops. The relationships of Raman intensity, lattice strain, swelling and hardness with He-implantation-induced lattice disorders are discussed.

Surface insulating properties of titanium implanted alumina ceramics by plasma immersion ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Mingdong; Song, Falun; Li, Fei; Jin, Xiao; Wang, Xiaofeng; Wang, Langping

2017-09-01

The insulating property of the alumina ceramic in vacuum under high voltage is mainly limited by its surface properties. Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an effective method to modify the surface chemical and physical properties of the alumina ceramic. In order to improve the surface flashover voltage of the alumina ceramic in vacuum, titanium ions with an energy of about 20 keV were implanted into the surface of the alumina ceramic using the PIII method. The surface properties of the as-implanted samples, such as the chemical states of the titanium, morphology and surface resistivity, were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope and electrometer, respectively. The surface flashover voltages of the as-implanted alumina samples were measured by a vacuum surface flashover experimental system. The XPS spectra revealed that a compound of Ti, TiO2 and Al2O3 was formed in the inner surface of the alumina sample. The electrometer results showed that the surface resistivity of the implanted alumina decreased with increased implantation time. In addition, after the titanium ion implantation, the maximum hold-off voltage of alumina was increased to 38.4 kV, which was 21.5% higher than that of the unimplanted alumina ceramic.

Initial formation behaviour of polypyrrole on single crystal TiO2 through photo-electrochemical reaction.

PubMed

Kawakita, Jin; Weitzel, Matthias

2011-04-01

Hybrid materials of the organic and inorganic semiconductors have a potential to show the better performance in the charge separation at the junction upon the photovoltaic action by the presence of the space charge layer in the inorganic semiconductor. In this study, the photo-anodic polymerization was selected as a fabrication method for the hybrid materials composed of TiO2 and polypyrrole on the basis of some advantages of this method. For the process control of the photo-anodic polymerization, it is important to elucidate the formation and growth mechanisms of the organic polymer. In this study, a flat sheet of single-crystal TiO2 was used as a well-defined surface for preparation of the organic polymer of pyrrole. Photo-anodic polarization behaviour was clarified and polypyrrole was prepared on TiO2. The formation process, especially the initial step was revealed by observation of polypyrrole with atomic force microscope (AFM) and statistical interpretation of the morphology of polypyrrole in the nano-scopic level. The formation process of polypyrrole on the TiO2 surface was summarized; (1) adsorption of precursors, (2) localized formation and growth of polypyrrole under the photo-illumination, and (3) homogenous growth of polypyrrole with the external current application under the photo-illumination.

Quantitative secondary ion mass spectrometric analysis of secondary ion polarity in GaN films implanted with oxygen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashiguchi, Minako; Sakaguchi, Isao; Adachi, Yutaka; Ohashi, Naoki

2016-10-01

Quantitative analyses of N and O ions in GaN thin films implanted with oxygen ions (16O+) were conducted by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Positive (CsM+) and negative secondary ions extracted by Cs+ primary ion bombardment were analyzed for oxygen quantitative analysis. The oxygen depth profiles were obtained using two types of primary ion beams: a Gaussian-type beam and a broad spot beam. The oxygen peak concentrations in GaN samples were from 3.2 × 1019 to 7.0 × 1021 atoms/cm3. The depth profiles show equivalent depth resolutions in the two analyses. The intensity of negative oxygen ions was approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that of positive ions. In contrast, the O/N intensity ratio measured using CsM+ molecular ions was close to the calculated atomic density ratio, indicating that the SIMS depth profiling using CsM+ ions is much more effective for the measurements of O and N ions in heavy O-implanted GaN than that using negative ions.

Symbiotic organism search algorithm for simulation of J- V characteristics and optimizing internal parameters of DSSC developed using electrospun TiO2 nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinoth, S.; Kanimozhi, G.; Kumar, Harish; Srinadhu, E. S.; Satyanarayana, N.

2017-12-01

In the present investigation, the recently developed, simple, robust, and powerful metaheuristic symbiotic organism search (SOS) algorithm was used for simulation of J- V characteristics and optimizing the internal parameters of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated using electrospun 1-D mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers as photoanode. The efficiency ( η = 5.80 %) of the DSSC made up of TiO2 nanofibers as photoanode is found to be ˜ 21.59% higher compared to the efficiency ( η = 4.77 %) of the DSSC made up of TiO2 nanoparticles as photoanode. The observed high efficiency can be attributed to high dye loading as well as high electron transport in the mesoporous 1-D TiO2 nanofibers. Further, the validity and advantage of SOS algorithm are verified by simulating J- V characteristics of DSSC with Lambert-W function.

Electrochemical growth behavior, surface properties, and enhanced in vivo bone response of TiO2 nanotubes on microstructured surfaces of blasted, screw-shaped titanium implants

PubMed Central

Sul, Young-Taeg

2010-01-01

TiO2 nanotubes are fabricated on TiO2 grit-blasted, screw-shaped rough titanium (ASTM grade 4) implants (3.75 × 7 mm) using potentiostatic anodization at 20 V in 1 M H3PO4 + 0.4 wt.% HF. The growth behavior and surface properties of the nanotubes are investigated as a function of the reaction time. The results show that vertically aligned nanotubes of ≈700 nm in length, with highly ordered structures of ≈40 nm spacing and ≈15 nm wall thickness may be grown independent of reaction time. The geometrical properties of nanotubes increase with reaction time (mean pore size, pore size distribution [PSD], and porosity ≈90 nm, ≈40–127 nm and 45%, respectively for 30 minutes; ≈107 nm, ≈63–140 nm and 56% for one hour; ≈108 nm, ≈58–150 nm and 60% for three hours). It is found that the fluorinated chemistry of the nanotubes of F-TiO2, TiOF2, and F-Ti-O with F ion incorporation of ≈5 at.%, and their amorphous structure is the same regardless of the reaction time, while the average roughness (Sa) gradually decreases and the developed surface area (Sdr) slightly increases with reaction time. The results of studies on animals show that, despite their low roughness values, after six weeks the fluorinated TiO2 nanotube implants in rabbit femurs demonstrate significantly increased osseointegration strengths (41 vs 29 Ncm; P = 0.008) and new bone formation (57.5% vs 65.5%; P = 0.008) (n = 8), and reveal more frequently direct bone/cell contact at the bone–implant interface by high-resolution scanning electron microscope observations as compared with the blasted, moderately rough implants that have hitherto been widely used for clinically favorable performance. The results of the animal studies constitute significant evidence that the presence of the nanotubes and the resulting fluorinated surface chemistry determine the nature of the bone responses to the implants. The present in vivo results point to potential applications of the TiO2 nanotubes in the

Designing nanostructured one-dimensional TiO2 nanotube and TiO2 nanoparticle multilayer composite film as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells to increase the charge collection efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akilavasan, Jeganathan; Al-Jassim, Maufick; Bandara, Jayasundera

2015-01-01

A photoanode consisting of hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 nanotubes (TNT) and TiO2 nanoparticles (TNP) was designed for efficient charge collection in dye-sensitized solar cells. TNT and TNP films were fabricated on a conductive glass substrate by using electrophoretic deposition and doctor-blade methods, respectively. The TNP, TNT, and TNT/TNP bi-layer electrodes exhibit solar cell efficiencies of 5.3, 7.4, and 9.2%, respectively. Solar cell performance results indicate a higher short-circuit current density (Jsc) for the TNT/TNP bi-layer electrode when compared to a TNT or TNP electrode alone. The open-circuit voltages (Voc) of TNT/TNP and TNT electrodes are comparable while the Voc of TNP electrode is inferior to that of the TNT/TNP electrode. Fill factors of TNT/TNP, TNT, and TNP electrodes also exhibit similar behaviors. The enhanced efficiency of the TNT/TNP bi-layer electrode is found to be mainly due to the enhancement of charge collection efficiency, which is confirmed by the charge transport parameters measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). EIS analyses also revealed that the TNT/TNP incurs smaller charge transport resistances and longer electron life times when compared to those of TNT or TNP electrodes alone. It was demonstrated that the TNT/TNP bi-layer electrode can possess the advantages of both rapid electron transport rate and a high light scattering effect.

Fabrication of doped TiO2 nanotube array films with enhanced photo-catalytic activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peighambardoust, Naeimeh-Sadat; Khameneh-asl, Shahin; Khademi, Adib

2018-01-01

In the present work, we investigate the N and Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube array film prepared by treating TiO2 nanotube array film with ammonia solution and anodizing in Fe(NO3)3 solution respectively. This method avoided the use of hazardous ammonia gas, or laborious ion implantation process. N and Fe-doped TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2 NTs) were prepared by electrochemical anodization process in 0.5 wt % HF aqueous solution. The anodization was performed at the conditions of 20 V and 20 min, Followed by a wet immersion in NH3.H2O (1M) for N-doping for 2 hr and annealing post-treatment at 450 °C. The morphology and structure of the nanotube films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and EDX. UV-vis. illumination test were done to observe photo-enhanced catalysis. The effect of different annealing temperature on the structure and photo-absorption property of the TiO2-TNTs was investigated. The results showed that N-TNTs nanotubes exhibited higher photocatalytic activity compared whit the Fe-doped and pure TNTs, because doping N promoted the separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes.

High-efficiency p-n junction oxide photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

PubMed

Liu, Zhifeng; Yan, Lu

2016-11-16

Development of all oxide p-n junctions makes a significant advancement in photoelectrode catalysis functional materials. In this article, we report the preparation of TiO 2 nanorod (NR)/Cu 2 O photoanodes via a simple hydrothermal method followed by an electrochemical deposition process. This facile synthesis route can simultaneously achieve uniform TiO 2 NR/Cu 2 O composite nanostructures and obtain varied amounts of Cu 2 O by controlling the deposition time. The photocurrent density of TiO 2 NR/Cu 2 O heterojunction photoanodes enhanced the photocatalytic activity with a photocurrent density of 5.25 mA cm -2 at 1.23 V versus RHE compared to pristine TiO 2 NR photoanodes under the same conditions. It is demonstrated that the presence of Cu 2 O has played an important role in expanding the spectral response region and reducing the photogenerated charge recombination rate. More importantly, the results provide new insights into the performance of all oxide p-n junctions as photoanodes for PEC water splitting.

Passivation of uranium towards air corrosion by N 2+ and C + ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arkush, R.; Mintz, M. H.; Shamir, N.

2000-10-01

The passivation of uranium surfaces against air corrosion, by ion implantation processes was studied, using surface analysis methods. Implanting 45 keV N +2 and C + ions produces thin modified surface layers with gradual gradients of the corresponding compounds (i.e., nitrides and carbides, respectively), which avoid the formation of discontinuous interfaces typical to coatings. Such gradual interfaces impart excellent mechanical stability and adhesion to the modified layers, in spite of the large misfit between the metal substrate and the implantation on induced compounds. It turns out that these layers provide an almost absolute protection against air corrosion. A rapid initial stage of oxidation of the modified surface layers takes place, forming very thin protective oxidation zones (1-4 nm thick), which practically stop further air oxidation for years. The mechanism of the initial oxidation stage of the modified layers seems to vary with the type of surface (i.e., either nitrides or carbides). However, in any case the protection ability of the formed oxidation products is excellent, probably due to the close match between these compounds and the underlying nitrides or carbides.

Synthesis of Fe16N2 compound Free-Standing Foils with 20 MGOe Magnetic Energy Product by Nitrogen Ion-Implantation

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yanfeng; Mehedi, Md Al; Fu, Engang; Wang, Yongqiang; Allard, Lawrence F.; Wang, Jian-Ping

2016-01-01

Rare-earth-free magnets are highly demanded by clean and renewable energy industries because of the supply constraints and environmental issues. A promising permanent magnet should possess high remanent magnetic flux density (Br), large coercivity (Hc) and hence large maximum magnetic energy product ((BH)max). Fe16N2 has been emerging as one of promising candidates because of the redundancy of Fe and N on the earth, its large magnetocrystalline anisotropy (Ku > 1.0 × 107 erg/cc), and large saturation magnetization (4πMs > 2.4 T). However, there is no report on the formation of Fe16N2 magnet with high Br and large Hc in bulk format before. In this paper, we successfully synthesize free-standing Fe16N2 foils with a coercivity of up to 1910 Oe and a magnetic energy product of up to 20 MGOe at room temperature. Nitrogen ion implantation is used as an alternative nitriding approach with the benefit of tunable implantation energy and fluence. An integrated synthesis technique is developed, including a direct foil-substrate bonding step, an ion implantation step and a two-step post-annealing process. With the tunable capability of the ion implantation fluence and energy, a microstructure with grain size 25–30 nm is constructed on the FeN foil sample with the implantation fluence of 5 × 1017/cm2. PMID:27145983

Synthesis of Fe16N2 compound Free-Standing Foils with 20 MGOe Magnetic Energy Product by Nitrogen Ion-Implantation.

PubMed

Jiang, Yanfeng; Mehedi, Md Al; Fu, Engang; Wang, Yongqiang; Allard, Lawrence F; Wang, Jian-Ping

2016-05-05

Rare-earth-free magnets are highly demanded by clean and renewable energy industries because of the supply constraints and environmental issues. A promising permanent magnet should possess high remanent magnetic flux density (Br), large coercivity (Hc) and hence large maximum magnetic energy product ((BH)max). Fe16N2 has been emerging as one of promising candidates because of the redundancy of Fe and N on the earth, its large magnetocrystalline anisotropy (Ku > 1.0 × 10(7) erg/cc), and large saturation magnetization (4πMs > 2.4 T). However, there is no report on the formation of Fe16N2 magnet with high Br and large Hc in bulk format before. In this paper, we successfully synthesize free-standing Fe16N2 foils with a coercivity of up to 1910 Oe and a magnetic energy product of up to 20 MGOe at room temperature. Nitrogen ion implantation is used as an alternative nitriding approach with the benefit of tunable implantation energy and fluence. An integrated synthesis technique is developed, including a direct foil-substrate bonding step, an ion implantation step and a two-step post-annealing process. With the tunable capability of the ion implantation fluence and energy, a microstructure with grain size 25-30 nm is constructed on the FeN foil sample with the implantation fluence of 5 × 10(17)/cm(2).

Application of nitrogen-doped TiO2 nano-tubes in dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Vy Anh; Truong, Trieu Thinh; Phan, Thu Anh Pham; Nguyen, Trang Ngoc; Huynh, Tuan Van; Agresti, Antonio; Pescetelli, Sara; Le, Tien Khoa; Di Carlo, Aldo; Lund, Torben; Le, So-Nhu; Nguyen, Phuong Tuyet

2017-03-01

Our research aimed to improve the overall energy conversion efficiency of DSCs by applying nitrogen-doped TiO2 nano-tubes (N-TNT) for the preparation of DSCs photo-anodes. The none-doped TiO2 nano-tubes (TNTs) were synthesized by alkaline hydrothermal treatment of Degussa P25 TiO2 particles in 10 M NaOH. The nano-tubes were N-doped by reflux in various concentrations of NH4NO3. The effects of nitrogen doping on the structure, morphology, and crystallography of N-TNT were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS). DSCs fabricated with doped N-TNT and TNT was characterized by J-V measurements. Results showed that nitrogen doping significantly enhanced the efficiency of N-TNT cells, reaching the optimum value (η = 7.36%) with 2 M nitrogen dopant, compared to η = 4.75% of TNT cells. The high efficiency of the N-TNT cells was attributed to increased current density due to the reduction of dark current in the DSCs.

TiO2 films photocatalytic activity improvements by swift heavy ions irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafik, Hazem; Mahmoud, Izerrouken; Mohamed, Trari; Abdenacer, Benyagoub

2014-08-01

TiO2 thin films synthesized by sol-gel on glass substrates are irradiated by 90 MeV Xe ions at various fluences and room temperature under normal incidence. The structural, electrical, optical and surface topography properties before and after Xe ions irradiation are investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the crystallinity is gradually destroyed, and the films become amorphous above 5×1012 ions/cm2. The band gap is not affected by Xe ions irradiation as evidenced from the optical measurements. By contrast, the conductivity increases with raising Xe fluence. The energy band diagram established from the electrochemical characterization shows the feasibility of TiO2 films for the photo-electrochemical chromate reduction. Xe ion irradiation results in enhanced photocatalytic activity in aquatic medium, evaluated by the reduction of Cr(VI) into trivalent state. TiO2 films irradiated at 1013 Xe/cm2 exhibit the highest photoactivity; 69% of chromate (10 ppm) is reduced at pH 3 after 4 h of exposure to sunlight (1120 mW cm-2) with a quantum yield of 0.06%.

Solvothermal Synthesis of Hierarchical TiO2 Microstructures with High Crystallinity and Superior Light Scattering for High-Performance Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

PubMed

Li, Zhao-Qian; Mo, Li-E; Chen, Wang-Chao; Shi, Xiao-Qiang; Wang, Ning; Hu, Lin-Hua; Hayat, Tasawar; Alsaedi, Ahmed; Dai, Song-Yuan

2017-09-20

In this article, hierarchical TiO 2 microstructures (HM-TiO 2 ) were synthesized by a simple solvothermal method adopting tetra-n-butyl titanate as the titanium source in a mixed solvent composed of N,N-dimethylformamide and acetic acid. Due to the high crystallinity and superior light-scattering ability, the resultant HM-TiO 2 are advantageous as photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells. When assembled to the entire photovoltaic device with C101 dye as a sensitizer, the pure HM-TiO 2 -based solar cells showed an ultrahigh photovoltage up to 0.853 V. Finally, by employing the as-obtained HM-TiO 2 as the scattering layer and optimizing the architecture of dye-sensitized solar cells, both higher photovoltage and incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency value were harvested with respect to TiO 2 nanoparticles-based dye-sensitized solar cells, resulting in a high power conversion efficiency of 9.79%. This work provides a promising strategy to develop photoanode materials with outstanding photoelectric conversion performance.

Mechanism of leakage of ion-implantation isolated AlGaN/GaN MIS-high electron mobility transistors on Si substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhili; Song, Liang; Li, Weiyi; Fu, Kai; Yu, Guohao; Zhang, Xiaodong; Fan, Yaming; Deng, Xuguang; Li, Shuiming; Sun, Shichuang; Li, Xiajun; Yuan, Jie; Sun, Qian; Dong, Zhihua; Cai, Yong; Zhang, Baoshun

2017-08-01

In this paper, we systematically investigated the leakage mechanism of the ion-implantation isolated AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors (MIS-HEMTs) on Si substrate. By means of combined DC tests at different temperatures and electric field dependence, we demonstrated the following original results: (1) It is proved that gate leakage is the main contribution to OFF-state leakage of ion-implantation isolated AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs, and the gate leakage path is a series connection of the gate dielectric Si3N4 and Si3N4-GaN interface. (2) The dominant mechanisms of the leakage current through LPCVD-Si3N4 gate dielectric and Si3N4-GaN interface are identified to be Frenkel-Poole emission and two-dimensional variable range hopping (2D-VRH), respectively. (3) A certain temperature annealing could reduce the density of the interface state that produced by ion implantation, and consequently suppress the interface leakage transport, which results in a decrease in OFF-state leakage current of ion-implantation isolated AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs.

Cold sprayed WO3 and TiO2 electrodes for photoelectrochemical water and methanol oxidation in renewable energy applications.

PubMed

Haisch, Christoph; Schneider, Jenny; Fleisch, Manuel; Gutzmann, Henning; Klassen, Thomas; Bahnemann, Detlef W

2017-10-03

Films prepared by cold spray have potential applications as photoanodes in electrochemical water splitting and waste water purification. In the present study cold sprayed photoelectrodes produced with WO 3 (active under visible light illumination) and TiO 2 (active under UV illumination) on titanium metal substrates were investigated as photoanodes for the oxidation of water and methanol, respectively. Methanol was chosen as organic model pollutant in acidic electrolytes. Main advantages of the cold sprayed photoelectrodes are the improved metal-semiconductor junctions and the superior mechanical stability. Additionally, the cold spray method can be utilized as a large-scale electrode fabrication technique for photoelectrochemical applications. Incident photon to current efficiencies reveal that cold sprayed TiO 2 /WO 3 photoanodes exhibit the best photoelectrochemical properties with regard to the water and methanol oxidation reactions in comparison with the benchmark photocatalyst Aeroxide TiO 2 P25 due to more efficient harvesting of the total solar light irradiation related to their smaller band gap energies.

Structural and optical properties of vanadium ion-implanted GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macková, A.; Malinský, P.; Jagerová, A.; Sofer, Z.; Klímová, K.; Sedmidubský, D.; Mikulics, M.; Lorinčík, J.; Veselá, D.; Böttger, R.; Akhmadaliev, S.

2017-09-01

The field of advanced electronic and optical devices searches for a new generation of transistors and lasers. The practical development of these novel devices depends on the availability of materials with the appropriate magnetic and optical properties, which is strongly connected to the internal morphology and the structural properties of the prepared doped structures. In this contribution, we present the characterisation of V ion-doped GaN epitaxial layers. GaN layers, oriented along the (0 0 0 1) crystallographic direction, grown by low-pressure metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on c-plane sapphire substrates were implanted with 400 keV V+ ions at fluences of 5 × 1015 and 5 × 1016 cm-2. Elemental depth profiling was accomplished by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) to obtain precise information about the dopant distribution. Structural investigations are needed to understand the influence of defect distribution on the crystal-matrix recovery and the desired structural and optical properties. The structural properties of the ion-implanted layers were characterised by RBS-channelling and Raman spectroscopy to get a comprehensive insight into the structural modification of implanted GaN and to study the influence of subsequent annealing on the crystalline matrix reconstruction. Photoluminescence measurement was carried out to check the optical properties of the prepared structures.

TiO2 Nanostructures as Anode Materials for Li/Na-ion Batteries.

PubMed

Vazquez-Santos, Maria B; Tartaj, Pedro; Morales, Enrique; Amarilla, Jose Manuel

2018-03-14

Here we summarize some results on the use of TiO 2 nanostructures as anode materials for more efficient Li-ion (LIBs) and Na-ion (NIBs) batteries. LIBs are the leader to power portable electronic devices, and represent in the short-term the most adequate technology to power electrical vehicles, while NIBs hold promise for large storage of energy generated from renewable sources. Specifically, TiO 2 an abundant, low cost, chemically stable and environmentally safe oxide represents in LIBs an alternative to graphite for applications in which safety is mandatory. For NIBs, TiO 2 anodes (or more precisely negative electrodes) work at low voltage, assuring acceptable energy density values. Finally, assembling different TiO 2 polymorphs in the form of nanostructures decreases diffusion distances, increases the number of contacts and offering additional sites for Na + storage, helping to improve power efficiency. More specifically, in this contribution we highlighted our work on TiO 2 anatase mesocrystals of colloidal size. These sophisticate materials; showing excellent textural properties, have remarkable electrochemical performance as anodes for Li/Na-ion batteries, with conventional alkyl carbonates electrolytes and safe electrolytes based on ionic liquids. © 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Resistive switching behavior in oxygen ion irradiated TiO2-x films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barman, A.; Saini, C. P.; Sarkar, P. K.; Bhattacharjee, G.; Bhattacharya, G.; Srivastava, S.; Satpati, B.; Kanjilal, D.; Ghosh, S. K.; Dhar, S.; Kanjilal, A.

2018-02-01

The room temperature resistive switching behavior in 50 keV O+-ion irradiated TiO2-x layers at an ion fluence of 5  ×  1016 ions cm-2 is reported. A clear transformation from columnar to layered polycrystalline films is revealed by transmission electron microscopy with increasing ion fluence, while the complementary electron energy loss spectroscopy suggests an evolution of oxygen vacancy (OV) in TiO2-x matrix. This is further verified by determining electron density with the help of x-ray reflectivity. Both local and device current-voltage measurements illustrate that the ion-beam induced OVs play a key role in bistable resistive switching mechanism.

Stoichiometric titanium dioxide ion implantation in AISI 304 stainless steel for corrosion protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartwig, A.; Decker, M.; Klein, O.; Karl, H.

2015-12-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the applicability of highly chemically inert titanium dioxide synthesized by ion beam implantation for corrosion protection of AISI 304 stainless steel in sodium chloride solution. More specifically, the prevention of galvanic corrosion between carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and AISI 304 was investigated. Corrosion performance of TiO2 implanted AISI 304 - examined for different implantation and annealing parameters - is strongly influenced by implantation fluence. Experimental results show that a fluence of 5 × 1016 cm-2 (Ti+) and 1 × 1017 cm-2 (O+) is sufficient to prevent pitting corrosion significantly, while galvanic corrosion with CFRP can already be noticeably reduced by an implantation fluence of 5 × 1015 cm-2 (Ti+) and 1 × 1016 cm-2 (O+). Surface roughness, implantation energy and annealing at 200 °C and 400 °C show only little influence on the corrosion behavior. TEM analysis indicates the existence of stoichiometric TiO2 inside the steel matrix for medium fluences and the formation of a separated metal oxide layer for high fluences.

Rational design of a tripartite-layered TiO2 photoelectrode: a candidate for enhanced power conversion efficiency in dye sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Khan, Javid; Gu, Jiuwang; He, Shiman; Li, Xiaohui; Ahmed, Gulzar; Liu, Zhongwu; Akhtar, Muhammad Nadeem; Mai, Wenjie; Wu, Mingmei

2017-07-20

A tri-layered photoelectrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is assembled using single crystal hollow TiO 2 nanoparticles (HTNPs), sub-micro hollow TiO 2 mesospheres (SHTMSs) and hierarchical TiO 2 microspheres (HTMSs). The bottom layer composed of single crystal hollow TiO 2 nanoparticles serves to absorb dye molecules, harvest light due to its hollow structure and keep a better mechanical contact with FTO conducting glass; the middle layer consisting of sub-micro hollow mesospheres works as a multifunctional layer due to its high dye adsorption ability, strong light trapping and scattering ability and slow recombination rates; and the top layer consisting of hierarchical microspheres enhances light scattering. The DSSCs made of photoanodes with a tripartite-layer structure (Film 4) show a superior photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.24%, which is 7.4% higher than a single layered photoanode composed of HTNPs (Film 1: 8.90%), 4.6% higher than a double layer-based electrode consisting of HTNPs and SHTMSs (Film 2: 9.03%) and 2.6% higher than a double layer-based electrode made of HTNPs and HTMSs (Film 3: 9.11%). The significant improvements in the PCE for tri-layered TiO 2 photoanodes are mainly because of the combined effects of their higher light scattering ability, long electron lifetime, fast electron transport rate, efficient charge collection and a considerable surface area with high dye-loading capability. This study confirms that the facile tri-layered photoanode is an interesting structure for high-efficiency DSSCs.

Electrochemical behavior and biological response of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on cp-Ti after N-ions implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizwan, M.; Ahmad, A.; Deen, K. M.; Haider, W.

2014-11-01

Titanium and its alloys are most widely used as implant materials due to their excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties and chemical stability. In this study Nitrogen ions of known dosage were implanted over cp-Ti by Pelletron accelerator with beam energy of 0.25 MeV.The atomic force microscopy of bare and nitrogen implanted specimens confirmed increase in surface roughness with increase in nitrogen ions concentration. X-ray diffraction patterns of ions implanted surfaces validated the formation of TiN0.3 and Ti3N2-xnitride phases. The tendency to form passive film and electrochemical behavior of these surfaces in ringer lactate (RL) solution was evaluated by Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy respectively. It is proved that nitrogen ions implantation was beneficial to reduce corrosion rate and stabilizing passive film by increasing charge transfer resistance in RL. It was concluded that morphology and proliferation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on nitrogen ions implanted surfaces strongly depends on surface roughness and nitride phases.

Zinc Tantalum Oxynitride (ZnTaO2N) Photoanode Modified with Cobalt Phosphate Layers for the Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Alkali Water

PubMed Central

T. Weller, Mark

2018-01-01

Photoanodes fabricated by the electrophoretic deposition of a thermally prepared zinc tantalum oxynitride (ZnTaO2N) catalyst onto indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates show photoactivation for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solutions. The photoactivity of the OER is further boosted by the photodeposition of cobalt phosphate (CoPi) layers onto the surface of the ZnTaO2N photoanodes. Structural, morphological, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the modified ZnTaO2N photoanodes are studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet visible (UV−Vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and electrochemical techniques. The presence of the CoPi layer significantly improved the PEC performance of water oxidation in an alkaline sulphate solution. The photocurrent-voltage behavior of the CoPi-modified ZnTaO2N anodes was improved, with the influence being more prominent at lower oxidation potentials. A stable photocurrent density of about 2.3 mA·cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE was attained upon visible light illumination. Relative to the ZnTaO2N photoanodes, an almost three-fold photocurrent increase was achieved at the CoPi/ZnTaO2N photoelectrode. Perovskite-based oxynitrides are modified using an oxygen-evolution co-catalyst of CoPi, and provide a new dimension for enhancing the photoactivity of oxygen evolution in solar-assisted water-splitting reactions. PMID:29346306

Metal-free organic dyes for TiO2 and ZnO dye-sensitized solar cells

PubMed Central

Selopal, Gurpreet Singh; Wu, Hui-Ping; Lu, Jianfeng; Chang, Yu-Cheng; Wang, Mingkui; Vomiero, Alberto; Concina, Isabella; Diau, Eric Wei-Guang

2016-01-01

We report the synthesis and characterization of new metal-free organic dyes (namely B18, BTD-R, and CPTD-R) which designed with D-π-A concept to extending the light absorption region by strong conjugation group of π-linker part and applied as light harvester in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We compared the photovoltaic performance of these dyes in two different photoanodes: a standard TiO2 mesoporous photoanode and a ZnO photoanode composed of hierarchically assembled nanostructures. The results demonstrated that B18 dye has better photovoltaic properties compared to other two dyes (BTD-R and CPTD-R) and each dye has higher current density (Jsc) when applied to hierarchical ZnO nanocrystallites than the standard TiO2 mesoporous film. Transient photocurrent and photovoltage decay measurements (TCD/TVD) were applied to systematically study the charge transport and recombination kinetics in these devices, showing the electron life time (τR) of B18 dye in ZnO and TiO2 based DSSCs is higher than CPTD-R and BTD-R based DSSCs, which is consistent with the photovoltaic performances. The conversion efficiency in ZnO based DSSCs can be further boosted by 35%, when a compact ZnO blocking layer (BL) is applied to inhibit electron back reaction. PMID:26738698

Modulation of Crystal Surface and Lattice by Doping: Achieving Ultrafast Metal-Ion Insertion in Anatase TiO2.

PubMed

Wang, Hsin-Yi; Chen, Han-Yi; Hsu, Ying-Ya; Stimming, Ulrich; Chen, Hao Ming; Liu, Bin

2016-10-26

We report that an ultrafast kinetics of reversible metal-ion insertion can be realized in anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). Niobium ions (Nb 5+ ) were carefully chosen to dope and drive anatase TiO 2 into very thin nanosheets standing perpendicularly onto transparent conductive electrode (TCE) and simultaneously construct TiO 2 with an ion-conducting surface together with expanded ion diffusion channels, which enabled ultrafast metal ions to diffuse across the electrolyte/solid interface and into the bulk of TiO 2 . To demonstrate the superior metal-ion insertion rate, the electrochromic features induced by ion intercalation were examined, which exhibited the best color switching speed of 4.82 s for coloration and 0.91 s for bleaching among all reported nanosized TiO 2 devices. When performed as the anode for the secondary battery, the modified TiO 2 was capable to deliver a highly reversible capacity of 61.2 mAh/g at an ultrahigh specific current rate of 60 C (10.2 A/g). This fast metal-ion insertion behavior was systematically investigated by the well-controlled electrochemical approaches, which quantitatively revealed both the enhanced surface kinetics and bulk ion diffusion rate. Our study could provide a facile methodology to modulate the ion diffusion kinetics for metal oxides.

Studies on the surface modification of TiN coatings using MEVVA ion implantation with selected metallic species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, L. P.; Purushotham, K. P.; Manory, R. R.

2016-02-01

Improvement in the performance of TiN coatings can be achieved using surface modification techniques such as ion implantation. In the present study, physical vapor deposited (PVD) TiN coatings were implanted with Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo and W using the metal evaporation vacuum arc (MEVVA) technique at a constant nominal dose of 4 × 1016 ions cm-2 for all species. The samples were characterized before and after implantation, using Rutherford backscattering (RBS), glancing incident angle X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy. Friction and wear studies were performed under dry sliding conditions using a pin-on-disc CSEM Tribometer at 1 N load and 450 m sliding distance. A reduction in the grain size and surface roughness was observed after implantation with all five species. Little variation was observed in the residual stress values for all implanted TiN coatings, except for W implanted TiN which showed a pronounced increase in compressive residual stress. Mo-implanted samples showed a lower coefficient of friction and higher resistance to breakdown during the initial stages of testing than as-received samples. Significant reduction in wear rate was observed after implanting with Zr and Mo ions compared with unimplanted TiN. The presence of the Ti2N phase was observed with Cr implantation.

In situ Ni-doping during cathodic electrodeposition of hematite for excellent photoelectrochemical performance of nanostructured nickel oxide-hematite p-n junction photoanode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phuan, Yi Wen; Ibrahim, Elyas; Chong, Meng Nan; Zhu, Tao; Lee, Byeong-Kyu; Ocon, Joey D.; Chan, Eng Seng

2017-01-01

Nanostructured nickel oxide-hematite (NiO/α-Fe2O3) p-n junction photoanodes synthesized from in situ doping of nickel (Ni) during cathodic electrodeposition of hematite were successfully demonstrated. A postulation model was proposed to explain the fundamental mechanism of Ni2+ ions involved, and the eventual formation of NiO on the subsurface region of hematite that enhanced the potential photoelectrochemical water oxidation process. Through this study, it was found that the measured photocurrent densities of the Ni-doped hematite photoanodes were highly dependent on the concentrations of Ni dopant used. The optimum Ni dopant at 25 M% demonstrated an excellent photoelectrochemical performance of 7-folds enhancement as compared to bare hematite photoanode. This was attributed to the increased electron donor density through the p-n junction and thus lowering the energetic barrier for water oxidation activity at the optimum Ni dopant concentration. Concurrently, the in situ Ni-doping of hematite has also lowered the photogenerated charge carrier transfer resistance as measured using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is expected that the fundamental understanding gained through this study is helpful for the rational design and construction of highly efficient photoanodes for application in photoelectrochemical process.

The influence of anatase-rutile mixed phase and ZnO blocking layer on dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO2nanofiberphotoanodes

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

High performance is expected in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) that utilize one-dimensional (1-D) TiO2 nanostructures owing to the effective electron transport. However, due to the low dye adsorption, mainly because of their smooth surfaces, 1-D TiO2 DSSCs show relatively lower efficiencies than nanoparticle-based ones. Herein, we demonstrate a very simple approach using thick TiO2 electrospun nanofiber films as photoanodes to obtain high conversion efficiency. To improve the performance of the DSCCs, anatase-rutile mixed-phase TiO2 nanofibers are achieved by increasing sintering temperature above 500°C, and very thin ZnO films are deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) method as blocking layers. With approximately 40-μm-thick mixed-phase (approximately 15.6 wt.% rutile) TiO2 nanofiber as photoanode and 15-nm-thick compact ZnO film as a blocking layer in DSSC, the photoelectric conversion efficiency and short-circuit current are measured as 8.01% and 17.3 mA cm−2, respectively. Intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy and intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy measurements reveal that extremely large electron diffusion length is the key point to support the usage of thick TiO2 nanofibers as photoanodes with very thin ZnO blocking layers to obtain high photocurrents and high conversion efficiencies. PMID:23286741

TiO2 anode materials for lithium-ion batteries with different morphology and additives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiang; Ng, Yip Hang; Leung, Yu Hang; Liu, Fangzhou; Djurišic, Aleksandra B.; Xie, Mao Hai; Chan, Wai Kin

2014-03-01

Electrochemical performances of different TiO2 nanostructures, TiO2/CNT composite and TiO2 with titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) treatment anode were investigated. For different TiO2 nanostructures, we investigated vertically aligned TiO2 nanotubes on Ti foil and TiO2 nanotube-powders fabricated by rapid breakdown anodization technique. The morphology of the prepared samples was characterized by scanning probe microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical lithium storage abilities were studied by galvanostatic method. In addition, carbon nanotubes (CNT) additives and solution treatment process of TiO2 anode were investigated, and the results show that the additives and treatment could enhance the cycling performance of the TiO2 anode on lithium ion batteries.

Facile synthesis and characterization of N-doped TiO2/C nanocomposites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Tiekun; Fu, Fang; Yu, Dongsheng; Cao, Jianliang; Sun, Guang

2018-02-01

Ultrafine anatase N-doped TiO2 nanocrystals modified with carbon (denoted as N-doped TiO2/C) were successfully prepared via a facile and low-cost approach, using titanium tetrachloride, aqueous ammonia and urea as starting materials. The phase composition, surface chemical composition, morphological structure, electronic and optical properties of the as-prepared photocatalysts were well characterized and analyzed. On the basis of Raman spectral characterization combining with the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), it could be concluded that N dopant ions were successfully introduced into TiO2 crystal lattice and carbon species were modified on the surface or between the nanoparticles to form N-doped TiO2/C nanocomposites. Compared with that of bare TiO2, the adsorption band edge of N-doped TiO2/C nanocomposites were found to have an evident red-shift toward visible light region, implying that the bandgap of N-doped TiO2/C nanocomposites is narrowed and the visible light absorption capacity is significantly enhanced due to N doping and carbon modification. The photoactivity of the as-prepared photocatalytsts was tested by the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light (λ > 420 nm), and the results showed that the N-doped TiO2/C nanocomposites exhibited much higher photodegradation rate than pure TiO2 and N-doped TiO2, which was mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the enhanced light harvesting, augmented catalytic active sites and efficient separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

Structures and optical properties of \\text{H}_{2}^{+} -implanted GaN epi-layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, B. S.; Wang, Z. G.

2015-06-01

The implantation damage build-up and optical properties of GaN epitaxial films under \\text{H}2+ ion implantation have been investigated by a combination of Rutherford backscattering in channeling geometry, Raman spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. GaN epitaxial films were implanted with 134 keV \\text{H}2+ ions to doses ranging from 3.75   ×   1016 to 1.75   ×   1017 \\text{H}2+  cm-2 at room temperature or the same dose of 1.5   ×   1017 \\text{H}2+  cm-2 at room temperature, 573 and 723 K. The dependence of lattice disorder induced by \\text{H}2+ -implantation on the ion dose can be divided into a three-step damage process. A strong influence of the H concentration on the defect accumulation is discussed. The decrease in relative Ga disorder induced by \\text{H}2+ -implantation is linear with increasing implantation temperature. The absorption coefficient of GaN epitaxial films increases with increasing ion dose, leading to the decrease in Raman scattering spectra of Ga-N vibration. With increasing implantation doses up to 5   ×   1016 \\text{H}2+  cm-2, nanoscale hydrogen bubbles are observed in the H deposition peak region. Interstitial-type dislocation loops are observed in the damaged layer located near the damage peak region, and the geometry of the dislocation loops produced by H implantation is analyzed. The surface layer is almost free of lattice disorder induced by \\text{H}2+ -implantation.

Gettering of Residual Impurities by Ion Implantation Damage in Poly-AlN UV Diode Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, A. H.; Stacy, T.; Meese, J. M.

1996-03-01

UV diode detectors have been fabricated from oriented polycrystalline AlN grown on (111) n-type 3-15Ω-cm Si substrates by CVD using AlCl3 and ammonia with a hydrogen carrier gas at 760-800C, 40-45 torr and gas flow rates of 350, 120, and 120 sccm for hydrogen, ammonia and hydrogen over heated AlCl_3. Half of the AlN film of thickness 1.5-2.0 microns was masked off prior to ion implantation. Samples were ion-implanted at 5 kV with methane, nitrogen and argon to a dose of 5-6 x 10^18 ions/cm^2. The AlN was contacted with sputtered Au while the Si was contacted with evaporated Al. No annealing was performed. Rectification was obtained as a result of radiation damage in the AlN. SIMs analysis showed a reduction of oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine and carbon by several orders of magnitude and to a depth of several microns in the ion implanted samples compared to the masked samples. The quantum efficiency was 16nm uncorrected for reflection from the AlN and thin metal contact.

Properties of Structurally Excellent N-doped TiO2 Rutile

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chambers, Scott A.; Cheung, Sau H.; Shutthanandan, V.

2007-10-15

We have used plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize structurally near-perfect crystalline films of TiO2-xNx rutile for the first time. These materials allow the properties of TiO2-xNx to be elucidated without the interfering effects of oxygen vacancy defects. In the absence of such defects, the extent of N incorporation in the lattice is limited to 2 ± 1 at. % of the anions. Substitutional N (NO) exhibits a -3 formal charge due to charge transfer from shallow-donor interstitial Ti(III), which forms during epitaxial growth. Hybridization between NO and adjacent lattice Ti ions occurs, resulting in new states off the topmore » of the rutile valence band and an apparent band gap reduction of ~ 0.5 eV. It is not yet known if these new states result in mobile electron-hole pair creation upon irradiation, but experiments are planned to answer this important question.« less

Optical properties of P ion implanted ZnO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pong, Bao-Jen; Chou, Bo-Wei; Pan, Ching-Jen; Tsao, Fu-Chun; Chi, Gou-Chung

2006-02-01

Red and green emissions are observed from P ion implanted ZnO. Red emission at ~680 nm (1.82 eV) is associated with the donor-acceptor pair (DAP) transition, where the corresponding donor and acceptor are interstitial zinc (Zn i) and interstitial oxygen (O i), respectively. Green emission at ~ 516 nm (2.40 eV) is associated with the transition between the conduction band and antisite oxygen (O Zn). Green emission at ~516nm (2.403 eV) was observed for ZnO annealed at 800 oC under ambient oxygen, whereas, it was not visible when it was annealed in ambient nitrogen. Hence, the green emission is most likely not related to oxygen vacancies on ZnO sample, which might be related to the cleanliness of ZnO surface, a detailed study is in progress. The observed micro-strain is larger for N ion implanted ZnO than that for P ion implanted ZnO. It is attributed to the larger straggle of N ion implanted ZnO than that of P ion implanted ZnO. Similar phenomenon is also observed in Be and Mg ion implanted GaN.

Photocatalytic decomposition of N2O over TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts heterojunction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kočí, K.; Reli, M.; Troppová, I.; Šihor, M.; Kupková, J.; Kustrowski, P.; Praus, P.

2017-02-01

TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts with the various TiO2/g-C3N4 weight ratios from 1:2 to 1:6 were fabricated by mechanical mixing in water suspension followed by calcination. Pure TiO2 was prepared by thermal hydrolysis and pure g-C3N4 was prepared from commercial melamine by thermal annealing at 620 °C. All the nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, photoelectrochemical measurements and nitrogen physisorption. The prepared mixtures along with pure TiO2 and g-C3N4 were tested for the photocatalytic decomposition of nitrous oxide under UVC (λ = 254 nm), UVA (λ = 365 nm) and Vis (λ > 400 nm) irradiation. The TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites showed moderate improvement compared to pure g-C3N4 but pure TiO2 proved to be a better photocatalyst under UVC irradiation. However, under UVA irradiation conditions, the photocatalytic activity of TiO2/g-C3N4 (1:2) nanocomposite exhibited an increase compared to pure TiO2. Nevertheless, further increase of g-C3N4 amount leads/led to a decrease in reactivity. These results are suggesting the nanocomposite with the optimal weight ratio of TiO2 and g-C3N4 have shifted absorption edge energy towards longer wavelengths and decreased the recombination rate of charge carriers compared to pure g-C3N4. This is probably due to the generation of heterojunction on the TiO2/g-C3N4 interface.

The effect of silver nanoparticles/graphene-coupled TiO2 beads photocatalyst on the photoconversion efficiency of photoelectrochemical hydrogen production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ke, Chun-Ren; Guo, Jyun-Sheng; Su, Yen-Hsun; Ting, Jyh-Ming

2016-10-01

In this work, a novel configuration of the photoelectrochemical hydrogen production device is demonstrated. It is based on TiO2 beads as the primary photoanode material with the addition of a heterostructure of silver nanoparticles/graphene. The heterostructure not only caters to a great improvement in light harvesting efficiency (LHE) but also enhances the charge collection efficiency. For LHE, the optimized cell based on TiO2 beads/Ag/graphene shows a 47% gain as compared to the cell having a photoanode of commercial P25 TiO2 powders. For the charge collection efficiency, there is a pronounced improvement of an impressive value of 856%. The reason for the improvement in light absorption is attributed to either the light scattering of TiO2 beads or the surface plasmonic resonance on the Ag nanoparticles/graphene. The photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of the resulting cells is also presented and discussed. The PCE of the TiO2 beads/Ag/graphene cell is approximately 2.5 times than that of pure P25 cell.

Highly Ordered TiO2 Microcones with High Rate Performance for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Storage.

PubMed

Rhee, Oonhee; Lee, Gibaek; Choi, Jinsub

2016-06-15

The perpendicularly oriented anatase TiO2 microcones for Li-ion battery application were synthesized via anodization of a Ti foil in aqueous HF + H3PO4 solution. The TiO2 microcones exhibited a high active surface area with a hollow core depending on applied voltage and reaction time, confirmed by SEM, XRD and TEM with EDS mapping. Li insertion/desertion into TiO2 microcones was evaluated for the first time in half-cell configuration in terms of various current density and long-term cyclability. The electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the as-prepared TiO2 microcones as anode material exhibited 3 times higher capacity as compared with TiO2 nanotubular structures, excellent rate performance (0.054 mAhcm(-2) even at 50 C) and reliable capacity retention during 500 cycles, which was attributed to facile diffusion of Li-ions induced in hollow anatase TiO2 microcones structure with multilayered nanofragment.

Nanostructured multielement (TiHfZrNbVTa)N coatings before and after implantation of N+ ions (1018 cm-2): Their structure and mechanical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pogrebnjak, A. D.; Bondar, O. V.; Borba, S. O.; Abadias, G.; Konarski, P.; Plotnikov, S. V.; Beresnev, V. M.; Kassenova, L. G.; Drodziel, P.

2016-10-01

Multielement high entropy alloy (HEA) nitride (TiHfZrNbVTa)N coatings were deposited by vacuum arc and their structural and mechanical stability after implantation of high doses of N+ ions, 1018 cm-2, were investigated. The crystal structure and phase composition were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy, while depth-resolved nanoindentation tests were used to determine the evolution of hardness and elastic modulus along the implantation depth. XRD patterns show that coatings exhibit a main phase with fcc structure, which preferred orientation varies from (1 1 1) to (2 0 0), depending on the deposition conditions. First-principles calculations reveal that the presence of Nb atoms could favor the formation of solid solution with fcc structure in multielement HEA nitride. TEM results showed that amorphous and nanostructured phases were formed in the implanted coating sub-surface layer (∼100 nm depth). Concentration of nitrogen reached 90 at% in the near-surface layer after implantation, and decreased at higher depth. Nanohardness of the as-deposited coatings varied from 27 to 38 GPa depending on the deposition conditions. Ion implantation led to a significant decrease of the nanohardness to 12 GPa in the implanted region, while it reaches 24 GPa at larger depths. However, the H/E ratio is ⩾0.1 in the sub-surface layer due to N+ implantation, which is expected to have beneficial effect on the wear properties.

Improved utilization of photogenerated charge using fluorine-doped TiO(2) hollow spheres scattering layer in dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Song, Junling; Yang, Hong Bin; Wang, Xiu; Khoo, Si Yun; Wong, C C; Liu, Xue-Wei; Li, Chang Ming

2012-07-25

We demonstrate a strategy to improve utilization of photogenerated charge in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) with fluorine-doped TiO2 hollow spheres as the scattering layer, which improves the fill factor from 69.4% to 74.1% and in turn results in an overall efficiency of photoanode increased by 13% (from 5.62% to 6.31%) in comparison with the control device using undoped TiO2 hollow spheres. It is proposed that the fluorine-doping improves the charge transfer and inhibition of charge recombination to enhance the utilization of the photogenerated charge in the photoanode.

Mesoporous TiO2 implants for loading high dosage of antibacterial agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Se Woong; Lee, Donghyun; Choi, Yong Suk; Jeon, Hoon Bong; Lee, Chang-Hoon; Moon, Ji-Hoi; Kwon, Il Keun

2014-06-01

We have fabricated mesoporous thin films composed of TiO2 nanoparticles on anodized titanium implant surfaces for loading drugs at high doses. Surface anodization followed by treatment with TiO2 paste leads to the formation of mechanically stable mesoporous thin films with controllable thickness. A series of antibacterial agents (silver nanoparticles, cephalothin, minocycline, and amoxicillin) were loaded into the mesoporous thin films and their antibacterial activities were evaluated against five bacterial species including three oral pathogens. Additionally, two agents (silver nanoparticles and minocycline) were loaded together on the thin film and tested for antibacterial effectiveness. The combination of silver nanoparticles and minocycline was found to display a wide range of effectiveness against all tested bacteria.

Amorphous and crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced Li-ion intercalation properties.

PubMed

Guan, Dongsheng; Cai, Chuan; Wang, Ying

2011-04-01

We have employed a simple process of anodizing Ti foils to prepare TiO2 nanotube arrays which show enhanced electrochemical properties for applications as Li-ion battery electrode materials. The lengths and pore diameters of TiO2 nanotubes can be finely tuned by varying voltage, electrolyte composition, or anodization time. The as-prepared nanotubes are amorphous and can be converted into anatase nanotubes with heat treatment at 480 degrees C. Rutile crystallites emerge in the anatase nanotube when the annealing temperature is increased to 580 degrees C, resulting in TiO2 nanotubes of mixed phases. The morphological features of nanotubes remain unchanged after annealing. Li-ion insertion performance has been studied for amorphous and crystalline TiO2 nanotube arrays. Amorphous nanotubes with a length of 3.0 microm and an outer diameter of 125 nm deliver a capacity of 91.2 microA h cm(-2) at a current density of 400 microA cm(-2), while those with a length of 25 microm and an outer diameter of 158 nm display a capacity of 533 microA h cm-2. When the 3-microm long nanotubes become crystalline, they deliver lower capacities: the anatase nanotubes and nanotubes of mixed phases show capacities of 53.8 microA h cm-2 and 63.1 microA h cm(-2), respectively at the same current density. The amorphous nanotubes show excellent capacity retention ability over 50 cycles. The cycled nanotubes show little change in morphology compared to the nanotubes before electrochemical cycling. All the TiO2 nanotubes demonstrate higher capacities than amorphous TiO2 compact layer reported in literature. The amorphous TiO2 nanotubes with a length of 1.9 microm exhibit a capacity five times higher than that of TiO2 compact layer even when the nanotube array is cycled at a current density 80 times higher than that for the compact layer. These results suggest that anodic TiO2 nanotube arrays are promising electrode materials for rechargeable Li-ion batteries.

Tandem Core–Shell Si–Ta 3N 5 Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

DOE PAGES

Narkeviciute, Ieva; Chakthranont, Pongkarn; Mackus, Adriaan J. M.; ...

2016-11-22

Here, nanostructured core–shell Si–Ta 3N 5 photoanodes were designed and synthesized to overcome charge transport limitations of Ta 3N 5 for photoelectrochemical water splitting. The core–shell devices were fabricated by atomic layer deposition of amorphous Ta 2O 5 onto nanostructured Si and subsequent nitridation to crystalline Ta 3N 5. Nanostructuring with a thin shell of Ta 3N 5 results in a 10-fold improvement in photocurrent compared to a planar device of the same thickness. In examining thickness dependence of the Ta 3N 5 shell from 10 to 70 nm, superior photocurrent and absorbed-photon-to-current efficiencies are obtained from the thinner Tamore » 3N 5 shells, indicating minority carrier diffusion lengths on the order of tens of nanometers. The fabrication of a heterostructure based on a semiconducting, n-type Si core produced a tandem photoanode with a photocurrent onset shifted to lower potentials by 200 mV. CoTiO x and NiO x water oxidation cocatalysts were deposited onto the Si–Ta 3N 5 to yield active photoanodes that with NiO x retained 50–60% of their maximum photocurrent after 24 h chronoamperometry experiments and are thus among the most stable Ta 3N 5 photoanodes reported to date.« less

Synthesis of carbon-coated TiO 2 nanotubes for high-power lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang-Jun; Kim, Young-Jun; Lee, Hyukjae

Carbon-coated TiO 2 nanotubes are prepared by a simple one-step hydrothermal method with an addition of glucose in the starting powder, and are characterized by morphological analysis and electrochemical measurement. A thin carbon coating on the nanotube surface effectively suppresses severe agglomeration of TiO 2 nanotubes during hydrothermal reaction and post calcination. This action results in better ionic and electronic kinetics when applied to lithium-ion batteries. Consequently, carbon-coated TiO 2 nanotubes deliver a remarkable lithium-ion intercalation/deintercalation performance, such as reversible capacities of 286 and 150 mAh g -1 at 250 and 7500 mA g -1, respectively.

Positron-annihilation-induced ion desorption from TiO2(110)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tachibana, T.; Hirayama, T.; Nagashima, Y.

2014-05-01

We have investigated the positron-stimulated desorption of ions from a TiO2(110) surface. Desorbed O+ ions were detected in coincidence with the emission of annihilation γ rays. The energy dependence of the ion yields shows that the O+ ions were detected at energies much lower than the previously reported threshold for electron impact desorption corresponding to the excitation energy of Ti(3p) core electrons. These results provide evidence that core-hole creation by positron annihilation with electrons in the core levels leads to ion desorption.

The synergistic effect of TiO2 nanoporous modification and platelet-rich plasma treatment on titanium-implant stability in ovariectomized rats.

PubMed

Jiang, Nan; Du, Pinggong; Qu, Weidong; Li, Lin; Liu, Zhonghao; Zhu, Songsong

For several decades, titanium and its alloys have been commonly utilized for endosseous implantable materials, because of their good mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and biocompatibility. But associated low bone mass, wear and loss characteristics, and high coefficients of friction have limited their long-term stable performance, especially in certain abnormal bone-metabolism conditions, such as postmenopausal osteoporosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment and TiO 2 nanoporous modification on the stability of titanium implants in osteoporotic bone. After surface morphology, topographical structure, and chemical changes of implant surface had been detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy, contact-angle measurement, and X-ray diffraction, we firstly assessed in vivo the effect of PRP treatment on osseointegration of TiO 2 -modified implants in ovariectomized rats by microcomputed tomography examinations, histology, biomechanical testing, and SEM observation. Meanwhile, the potential molecular mechanism involved in peri-implant osseous enhancement was also determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that this TiO 2 -modified surface was able to lead to improve bone implant contact, while PRP treatment was able to increase the implant surrounding bone mass. The synergistic effect of both was able to enhance the terminal force of implants drastically in biomechanical testing. Compared with surface modification, PRP treatment promoted earlier osteogenesis with increased expression of the RUNX2 and COL1 genes and suppressed osteoclastogenesis with increased expression of OPG and decreased levels of RANKL. These promising results show that PRP treatment combined with a TiO 2 -nanomodified surface can improve titanium-implant biomechanical stability in ovariectomized rats, suggesting a beneficial effect to support the success of implants in

The synergistic effect of TiO2 nanoporous modification and platelet-rich plasma treatment on titanium-implant stability in ovariectomized rats

PubMed Central

Jiang, Nan; Du, Pinggong; Qu, Weidong; Li, Lin; Liu, Zhonghao; Zhu, Songsong

2016-01-01

For several decades, titanium and its alloys have been commonly utilized for endosseous implantable materials, because of their good mechanical properties, chemical resistance, and biocompatibility. But associated low bone mass, wear and loss characteristics, and high coefficients of friction have limited their long-term stable performance, especially in certain abnormal bone-metabolism conditions, such as postmenopausal osteoporosis. In this study, we investigated the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment and TiO2 nanoporous modification on the stability of titanium implants in osteoporotic bone. After surface morphology, topographical structure, and chemical changes of implant surface had been detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy, contact-angle measurement, and X-ray diffraction, we firstly assessed in vivo the effect of PRP treatment on osseointegration of TiO2-modified implants in ovariectomized rats by microcomputed tomography examinations, histology, biomechanical testing, and SEM observation. Meanwhile, the potential molecular mechanism involved in peri-implant osseous enhancement was also determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that this TiO2-modified surface was able to lead to improve bone implant contact, while PRP treatment was able to increase the implant surrounding bone mass. The synergistic effect of both was able to enhance the terminal force of implants drastically in biomechanical testing. Compared with surface modification, PRP treatment promoted earlier osteogenesis with increased expression of the RUNX2 and COL1 genes and suppressed osteoclastogenesis with increased expression of OPG and decreased levels of RANKL. These promising results show that PRP treatment combined with a TiO2-nanomodified surface can improve titanium-implant biomechanical stability in ovariectomized rats, suggesting a beneficial effect to support the success of implants in

Exploring Step‐by‐Step Assembly of Nanoparticle:Cytochrome Biohybrid Photoanodes

PubMed Central

Hwang, Ee Taek; Orchard, Katherine L.; Hojo, Daisuke; Beton, Joseph; Lockwood, Colin W. J.; Adschiri, Tadafumi

2017-01-01

Abstract Coupling light‐harvesting semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs) with redox enzymes has been shown to create artificial photosynthetic systems that hold promise for the synthesis of solar fuels. High quantum yields require efficient electron transfer from the nanoparticle to the redox protein, a property that can be difficult to control. Here, we have compared binding and electron transfer between dye‐sensitized TiO2 nanocrystals or CdS quantum dots and two decaheme cytochromes on photoanodes. The effect of NP surface chemistry was assessed by preparing NPs capped with amine or carboxylic acid functionalities. For the TiO2 nanocrystals, binding to the cytochromes was optimal when capped with a carboxylic acid ligand, whereas for the CdS QDs, better adhesion was observed for amine capped ligand shells. When using TiO2 nanocrystals, dye‐sensitized with a phosphonated bipyridine Ru(II) dye, photocurrents are observed that are dependent on the redox state of the decaheme, confirming that electrons are transferred from the TiO2 nanocrystals to the surface via the decaheme conduit. In contrast, when CdS NPs are used, photocurrents are not dependent on the redox state of the decaheme, consistent with a model in which electron transfer from CdS to the photoanode bypasses the decaheme protein. These results illustrate that although the organic shell of NPs nanoparticles crucially affects coupling with proteinaceous material, the coupling can be difficult to predict or engineer. PMID:28920010

Mesoporous TiO2 nanosheets anchored on graphene for ultra long life Na-ion batteries.

PubMed

Zhang, Ruifang; Wang, Yuankun; Zhou, Han; Lang, Jinxin; Xu, Jingjing; Xiang, Yang; Ding, Shujiang

2018-06-01

Sodium-ion batteries, which have a similar electrochemical reaction mechanism to lithium-ion batteries, have been considered as one of the most potential lithium-ion battery alternatives due to the rich reserves of sodium. However, it is very hard to find appropriate electrode materials imputing the large radius of sodium-ion. TiO 2 is particularly interesting as anodes for sodium-ion batteries due to their reasonable operation voltage, cost, and nontoxicity. To obtain a better electrochemical property, mesoporous TiO 2 nanosheets (NSs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites have been synthesized via a scalable hydrothermal-solvothermal method with a subsequent calcination process. Benefitting from unique structure design, TiO 2 NSs@rGO exhibits a superior cycle stability (90 mAh g -1 after 10 000 cycles at a high current rate of 20 C) and satisfactory rate performance (97.3 mAh g -1 at 25 C). To our knowledge, such ultra long cycle life has not previously been reported.

Mesoporous TiO2 nanosheets anchored on graphene for ultra long life Na-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ruifang; Wang, Yuankun; Zhou, Han; Lang, Jinxin; Xu, Jingjing; Xiang, Yang; Ding, Shujiang

2018-06-01

Sodium-ion batteries, which have a similar electrochemical reaction mechanism to lithium-ion batteries, have been considered as one of the most potential lithium-ion battery alternatives due to the rich reserves of sodium. However, it is very hard to find appropriate electrode materials imputing the large radius of sodium-ion. TiO2 is particularly interesting as anodes for sodium-ion batteries due to their reasonable operation voltage, cost, and nontoxicity. To obtain a better electrochemical property, mesoporous TiO2 nanosheets (NSs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites have been synthesized via a scalable hydrothermal-solvothermal method with a subsequent calcination process. Benefitting from unique structure design, TiO2 NSs@rGO exhibits a superior cycle stability (90 mAh g‑1 after 10 000 cycles at a high current rate of 20 C) and satisfactory rate performance (97.3 mAh g‑1 at 25 C). To our knowledge, such ultra long cycle life has not previously been reported.

Vacancy identification in Co+ doped rutile TiO2 crystal with positron annihilation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, X. B.; Zhang, P.; Liang, L. H.; Zhao, B. Z.; Yu, R. S.; Wang, B. Y.; Wu, W. M.

2011-01-01

Co-doped rutile TiO2 films were synthesized by ion implantation. Variable energy positron annihilation Doppler broadening spectroscopy and coincidence Doppler broadening measurements were performed for identification of the vacancies. A newly formed type of vacancy can be concluded by the S-W plot and the CDB results indicated that the oxygen vacancy (VO) complex Ti-Co-VO and/or Ti-VO are formed with Co ions implantation and the vacancy concentration is increased with increase of dopant dose.

Cytokine induction of sol–gel-derived TiO2 and SiO2 coatings on metallic substrates after implantation to rat femur

PubMed Central

Urbanski, Wiktor; Marycz, Krzysztof; Krzak, Justyna; Pezowicz, Celina; Dragan, Szymon Feliks

2017-01-01

Material surface is a key determinant of host response on implanted biomaterial. Therefore, modification of the implant surface may optimize implant–tissue reactions. Inflammatory reaction is inevitable after biomaterial implantation, but prolonged inflammation may lead to adverse reactions and subsequent implant failure. Proinflammatory activities of cytokines like interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) are attractive indicators of these processes and ultimately characterize biocompatibility. The objective of the study was to evaluate local cytokine production after implantation of stainless steel 316L (SS) and titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) biomaterials coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silica (SiO2) coatings prepared by sol–gel method. Biomaterials were implanted into rat femur and after 12 weeks, bones were harvested. Bone–implant tissue interface was evaluated; immunohistochemical staining was performed to identify IL-6, TNF-α, and Caspase-1. Histomorphometry (AxioVision Rel. 4.6.3 software) of tissue samples was performed in order to quantify the cytokine levels. Both the oxide coatings on SS and Ti6Al4V significantly reduced cytokine production. However, the lowest cytokine levels were observed in TiO2 groups. Cytokine content in uncoated groups was lower in Ti6Al4V than in SS, although coating of either metal reduced cytokine production to similar levels. Sol–gel TiO2 or SiO2 coatings reduced significantly the production of proinflammatory cytokines by local tissues, irrespective of the material used as a substrate, that is, either Ti6Al4V or SS. This suggests lower inflammatory response, which directly points out improvement of materials’ biocompatibility. PMID:28280331

Corrosion resistance of titanium ion implanted AZ91 magnesium alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu Chenglong; Xin Yunchang; Tian Xiubo

2007-03-15

Degradable metal alloys constitute a new class of materials for load-bearing biomedical implants. Owing to their good mechanical properties and biocompatibility, magnesium alloys are promising in degradable prosthetic implants. The objective of this study is to improve the corrosion behavior of surgical AZ91 magnesium alloy by titanium ion implantation. The surface characteristics of the ion implanted layer in the magnesium alloys are examined. The authors' results disclose that an intermixed layer is produced and the surface oxidized films are mainly composed of titanium oxide with a lesser amount of magnesium oxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that the oxide has threemore » layers. The outer layer which is 10 nm thick is mainly composed of MgO and TiO{sub 2} with some Mg(OH){sub 2}. The middle layer that is 50 nm thick comprises predominantly TiO{sub 2} and MgO with minor contributions from MgAl{sub 2}O{sub 4} and TiO. The third layer from the surface is rich in metallic Mg, Ti, Al, and Ti{sub 3}Al. The effects of Ti ion implantation on the corrosion resistance and electrochemical behavior of the magnesium alloys are investigated in simulated body fluids at 37{+-}1 deg. C using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and open circuit potential techniques. Compared to the unimplanted AZ91 alloy, titanium ion implantation significantly shifts the open circuit potential (OCP) to a more positive potential and improves the corrosion resistance at OCP. This phenomenon can be ascribed to the more compact surface oxide film, enhanced reoxidation on the implanted surface, as well as the increased {beta}-Mg{sub 12}Al{sub 17} phase.« less

Corrosion behavior of ion implanted nickel-titanium orthodontic wire in fluoride mouth rinse solutions.

PubMed

Iijima, Masahiro; Yuasa, Toshihiro; Endo, Kazuhiko; Muguruma, Takeshi; Ohno, Hiroki; Mizoguchi, Itaru

2010-01-01

This study investigated the corrosion properties of ion implanted nickel-titanium wire (Neo Sentalloy Ionguard) in artificial saliva and fluoride mouth rinse solutions (Butler F Mouthrinse, Ora-Bliss). Non ion implanted nickel-titanium wire (Neo Sentalloy) was used as control. The anodic corrosion behavior was examined by potentiodynamic polarization measurement. The surfaces of the specimens were examined with SEM. The elemental depth profiles were characterized by XPS. Neo Sentalloy Ionguard in artificial saliva and Butler F Mouthrinse (500 ppm) had a lower current density than Neo Sentalloy. In addition, breakdown potential of Neo Sentalloy Ionguard in Ora-Bliss (900 ppm) was much higher than that of Neo Sentalloy although both wires had similar corrosion potential in Ora-Bliss (450 and 900 ppm). The XPS results for Neo Sentalloy Ionguard suggested that the layers consisted of TiO(2) and TiN were present on the surface and the layers may improve the corrosion properties.

Modification of TiO(2) nanotube surfaces by electro-spray deposition of amoxicillin combined with PLGA for bactericidal effects at surgical implantation sites.

PubMed

Lee, Jung-Hwan; Moon, Seung-Kyun; Kim, Kwang-Mahn; Kim, Kyoung-Nam

2013-01-01

To fabricate the antibiotic-releasing coatings on TiO(2) nanotube surfaces for wide applications of implant and bone plate in medical and dental surgery, the optimal deposition time of amoxicillin/PLGA solution simultaneously performing non-toxicity and a high bactericidal effect for preventing early implant failures was found. FE-SEM, ESD and FT-IR were used for confirming deposition of amoxicillin/PLGA on the TiO(2) surface. Also, the elution of amoxicillin/PLGA in a TiO(2) nanotube surface was measured by a UV-VIS spectrophotometer. The bactericidal effect of amoxicillin on the TiO(2) nanotube surface was evaluated by using Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The cytotoxicity and cell proliferation were observed by WST assay using MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells. The results indicated that the TiO(2) nanotube surface controlled by electro-spray deposition time with amoxicillin/PLGA solution could provide a high bactericidal effect against S. aureus by the bactericidal effect of amoxicillin, as well as good osteoblast cell proliferation at the TiO(2) nanotube surface without toxicity. This study used electro-spray deposition (ESD) methodology to obtain amoxicillin deposition in nanotube structures of TiO(2) and found the optimal deposition time of amoxicillin/PLGA solution simultaneously performing non-toxicity and a high bactericidal effect for preventing early implant failures.

N doped ZnO and ZnO nanorods based p-n homojunction fabricated by ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chakraborty, Mohua; Thangavel, R.; Asokan, K.

2018-05-01

Nitrogen (N) doped and undoped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorod p-n homojunctions were fabricated by ion implantation method. The structural and optical characterizations showed that the N atoms doped into the ZnO crystal lattice. The UV-Vis absorption spectra revealed shift in optical absorption edge towards higher wavelength with ion implantation on ZnO, which attributed N acceptor levels above the valence band. The current-voltage (I-V) measurements exhibit a typical semiconductor rectification characteristic indicating the electrical conductivity of the N-doped ZnO nanorod have p-type conductivity. Moreover, a high photocurrent response has been observed with these p-n homojunctions.

Reversible magnesium and aluminium ions insertion in cation-deficient anatase TiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koketsu, Toshinari; Ma, Jiwei; Morgan, Benjamin J.; Body, Monique; Legein, Christophe; Dachraoui, Walid; Giannini, Mattia; Demortière, Arnaud; Salanne, Mathieu; Dardoize, François; Groult, Henri; Borkiewicz, Olaf J.; Chapman, Karena W.; Strasser, Peter; Dambournet, Damien

2017-11-01

In contrast to monovalent lithium or sodium ions, the reversible insertion of multivalent ions such as Mg2+ and Al3+ into electrode materials remains an elusive goal. Here, we demonstrate a new strategy to achieve reversible Mg2+ and Al3+ insertion in anatase TiO2, achieved through aliovalent doping, to introduce a large number of titanium vacancies that act as intercalation sites. We present a broad range of experimental and theoretical characterizations that show a preferential insertion of multivalent ions into titanium vacancies, allowing a much greater capacity to be obtained compared to pure TiO2. This result highlights the possibility to use the chemistry of defects to unlock the electrochemical activity of known materials, providing a new strategy for the chemical design of materials for practical multivalent batteries.

Flexible free-standing TiO2/graphene/PVdF films as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, H. M.; Ding, Y. H.; Chang, F. H.; He, X.; Feng, J. Q.; Wang, C. F.; Jiang, Y.; Zhang, P.

2012-12-01

Graphene composites were prepared by hydrothermal method using titanium dioxide (TiO2) adsorbed graphene oxide (GO) sheets as precursors. Free-standing hybrid films for lithium-ion batteries were prepared by adding TiO2/graphene composites to the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF)/N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) solution, followed by a solvent evaporation technique. These films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and various electrochemical techniques. Flexible films show an excellent cycling performance, which was attributed to the interconnected graphene conducting network, which depressed the increasing of electric resistance during the cycling.

P-type doping of GaN(000\\bar{1}) by magnesium ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narita, Tetsuo; Kachi, Tetsu; Kataoka, Keita; Uesugi, Tsutomu

2017-01-01

Magnesium ion implantation has been performed on a GaN(000\\bar{1}) substrate, whose surface has a high thermal stability, thus allowing postimplantation annealing without the use of a protective layer. The current-voltage characteristics of p-n diodes fabricated on GaN(000\\bar{1}) showed distinct rectification at a turn-on voltage of about 3 V, although the leakage current varied widely among the diodes. Coimplantation with magnesium and hydrogen ions effectively suppressed the leakage currents and device-to-device variations. In addition, an electroluminescence band was observed at wavelengths shorter than 450 nm for these diodes. These results provide strong evidence that implanted magnesium ions create acceptors in GaN(000\\bar{1}).

Nanoindentation study of the mechanical behavior of TiO2 nanotube arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Y. N.; Liu, M. N.; Wang, M. C.; Oloyede, A.; Bell, J. M.; Yan, C.

2015-10-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotube arrays are attracting increasing attention for use in solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and biomedical implants. To take full advantage of their unique physical properties, such arrays need to maintain adequate mechanical integrity in applications. However, the mechanical performance of TiO2 nanotube arrays is not well understood. In this work, we investigate the deformation and failure of TiO2 nanotube arrays using the nanoindentation technique. We found that the load-displacement response of the arrays strongly depends on the indentation depth and indenter shape. Substrate-independent elastic modulus and hardness can be obtained when the indentation depth is less than 2.5% of the array height. The deformation mechanisms of TiO2 nanotube arrays by Berkovich and conical indenters are closely associated with the densification of TiO2 nanotubes under compression. A theoretical model for deformation of the arrays under a large-radius conical indenter is also proposed.

The TiO2 Hierarchical Structure with Nanosheet Spheres for Improved Photoelectric Performance in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Xin; Guan, Yingli; Song, Lixin; Xie, Xueyao; Du, Pingfan; Xiong, Jie

2018-04-01

A bi-layer photoanode is successfully fabricated for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) composed of P25/TiO2 nanorod (P25/TNR) as the underlayer and TiO2 nanosheet spheres (TNSs) as the light-scattering layer. Notably, the P25-TNR provides multiple functions, including more dye loading, more efficient charge transport and a lower electron recombination rate for the photoanode. Besides, the unique structure of TNS can significantly improve the light-harvesting capacity, boosting the light-harvesting efficiency. Therefore, an enhanced short-circuit current and power conversion efficiency of 18.04 mA cm-2 and 5.99%, respectively, were achieved for the P25/TNR-TNS-based DSSC, which was better than that of the P25-TNS-based (15.17 mA cm-2, 5.36%) and bare TNS-based (11.43 mA cm-2, 4.14%) DSSCs. This indicates that this bi-layer structure effectively combines the advantages of the one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure and three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structure. In short, this work demonstrates the possibility of fabricating desirable photoanodes for high-performance DSSCs by rational design of nanostructures and effective combination of multi-functional components.

Reversible magnesium and aluminium ions insertion in cation-deficient anatase TiO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koketsu, Toshinari; Ma, Jiwei; Morgan, Benjamin J.

In contrast to monovalent lithium or sodium ions, the reversible insertion of multivalent ions such as Mg 2+ and Al 3+ into electrode materials remains an elusive goal. In this work, we demonstrate a new strategy to achieve reversible Mg 2+ and Al 3+ insertion in anatase TiO 2, achieved through aliovalent doping, to introduce a large number of titanium vacancies that act as intercalation sites. We present a broad range of experimental and theoretical characterizations that show a preferential insertion of multivalent ions into titanium vacancies, allowing a much greater capacity to be obtained compared to pure TiO 2.more » In conclusion, this result highlights the possibility to use the chemistry of defects to unlock the electrochemical activity of known materials providing a new strategy for the chemical design of materials for practical multivalent batteries.« less

Reversible magnesium and aluminium ions insertion in cation-deficient anatase TiO 2

DOE PAGES

Koketsu, Toshinari; Ma, Jiwei; Morgan, Benjamin J.; ...

2017-09-18

In contrast to monovalent lithium or sodium ions, the reversible insertion of multivalent ions such as Mg 2+ and Al 3+ into electrode materials remains an elusive goal. In this work, we demonstrate a new strategy to achieve reversible Mg 2+ and Al 3+ insertion in anatase TiO 2, achieved through aliovalent doping, to introduce a large number of titanium vacancies that act as intercalation sites. We present a broad range of experimental and theoretical characterizations that show a preferential insertion of multivalent ions into titanium vacancies, allowing a much greater capacity to be obtained compared to pure TiO 2.more » In conclusion, this result highlights the possibility to use the chemistry of defects to unlock the electrochemical activity of known materials providing a new strategy for the chemical design of materials for practical multivalent batteries.« less

Silver doped TiO2 nano crystallites for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakthivel, T.; Ashok Kumar, K.; Ramanathan, Rajajeyaganthan; Senthilselvan, J.; Jagannathan, K.

2017-12-01

This communication deals with the synthesis of Ag doped TiO2 nanoparticles with different doping concentrations prepared by reduction method for the possible usage of photo anode material in DSSC. The prepared nanoparticles are characterized by x-ray diffraction to study their structural properties which confirms the formation of mixed anatase-rutile crystalline phases. The particulate size, shape and surface morphology are examined using FESEM which indicates agglomerated nanostructures with the average particle size of 20-25 nm. The UV-visible absorption spectra showed enhanced absorption in the visible range in accordance with the doping concentration of Ag with a red shift in their absorption edge. The interfacial charge transport phenomena of the DSSCs are determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the corresponding efficiencies are calculated using J-V curve. In the present work, the UV active TiO2 and Ag doped TiO2 nanoparticles are employed as photoanode for the fabrication of DSSCs based on N3 dye and maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.544% is realized.

Fe-N co-doped SiO2@TiO2 yolk-shell hollow nanospheres with enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hengcheng; Yao, Weitang; Zhu, Wenkun; Tang, Yi; Ge, Huilin; Shi, Xiaozhong; Duan, Tao

2018-06-01

SiO2@TiO2 yolk@shell hollow nanospheres (STNSs) is considered as an outstanding photocatalyst due to its tunable structure and composition. Based on this point, we present an unprecedentedly excellent photocatalytic property of STNSs toward tannic acid via a Fe-N co-doped strategy. Their morphologies, compositions, structure and properties are characterized. The Fe-N co-doped STNSs formed good hollow yolk@shell structure. The results show that the energy gap of the composites can be downgraded to 2.82 eV (pure TiO2 = 3.2 eV). Photocatalytic degradation of tannic acid (TA, 30 mg L-1) under visible light (380 nm < λ < 780 nm) irradiation is used to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the composites. Compared with pure TiO2 nanospheres, non-doped STNSs and N-doped STNSs, the Fe-N co-doped STNSs exhibits the highest activity, which can degrade 99.5% TA into CO2 and H2O in 80 min. The probable degradation mechanism of the composites is simultaneously proposed, the band gap of STNSs becomes narrow by co-doping Fe-N, so that the TiO2 shell can stimulate electrons under visible light exposure, generate the ions of radOH and radO2- with a strong oxidizing property. Therefore this approach works is much desired for radioactive organic wastewater photocatalytic degradation.

Biocorrosion studies of TiO2 nanoparticle-coated Ti-6Al-4V implant in simulated biofluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaveri, Nikita; McEwen, Gerald D.; Karpagavalli, Ramji; Zhou, Anhong

2010-06-01

The corrosion behaviors of the TiO2 nanoparticles coated bioimplant Ti-6Al-4V exposed to three different simulated biofluids (SBF), namely, (1) NaCl solution, (2) Hank's solution, and (3) Cigada solution, were studied by using micro-Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical techniques, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The different electrochemical impedance spectroscopy models were applied to fit the data obtained from the implants before and after the coating of TiO2 nanoparticles (50-100 nm). It was found that the TiO2 nanoparticle coatings increased the thickness of the pre-existing oxide layer on the Ti-6Al-4V surface, serving to improve the bioimplant corrosion resistance.

Efficient light harvesting with micropatterned 3D pyramidal photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Wooh, Sanghyuk; Yoon, Hyunsik; Jung, Jae-Hyun; Lee, Yong-Gun; Koh, Jai Hyun; Lee, Byoungho; Kang, Yong Soo; Char, Kookheon

2013-06-11

3D TiO2 photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are fabricated by the soft lithographic technique for efficient light trapping. An extended strategy to the construction of randomized pyramid structure is developed by the conventional wet-etching of a silicon wafer for low-cost fabrication. Moreover, the futher enhancement of light absorption resulting in photocurrent increase is achieved by combining the 3D photoanode with a conventional scattering layer. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A comparative study of the magnetization in transition metal ion doped CeO2, TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apostolov, A. T.; Apostolova, I. N.; Wesselinowa, J. M.

2018-05-01

Using the microscopic s-d model taking into account anharmonic spin-phonon interactions we have studied the magnetic properties of Co and Cu ion doped CeO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles and compared them with those of SnO2. By Co-doping there is a maximum in the magnetization M(x) curve for all nanoparticles observed in the most transition metal doped ones. The s-d interaction plays an important role by the decrease of M at higher dopant concentration. We have discussed the magnetization in dependence of different model parameters. By small Cu-ion doping there are some differences. In CeO2M decreases with the Cu-concentration, whereas in TiO2 and SnO2M increases. For higher Cu dopant concentrations M(X) decreases in TiO2 nanoparticles. We obtain room temperature ferromagnetism also in Zn doped CeO2, TiO2 and SnO2 nanoparticles, i.e. in non-transition metal ion doped ones. The different behavior of M in Co and Cu doped nanoparticles is due to a combination effect of multivalent metal ions, oxygen vacancies, different radius of cation dopants, connection between lattice and magnetism, as well as competition between the s-d and d-d ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic interactions.

TiO2-Photoanode-Assisted Direct-Solar-Energy Harvesting and Storage in a Solar-Powered Redox Cell Using Halides as Active Materials.

PubMed

Zhang, Shun; Chen, Chen; Zhou, Yangen; Qian, Yumin; Ye, Jing; Xiong, Shiyun; Zhao, Yu; Zhang, Xiaohong

2018-06-27

The rapid deployment of renewable energy is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits. We demonstrate here the direct solar-energy harvesting and storage in a rechargeable solar-powered redox cell, which can be charged solely by solar irradiation. The cell follows a conventional redox-flow cell design with one integrated TiO 2 photoanode in the cathode side. Direct charging of the cell by solar irradiation results in the conversion of solar energy in to chemical energy. Whereas discharging the cell leads to the release of chemical energy in the form of electricity. The cell integrates energy conversion and storage processes in a single device, making the solar energy directly and efficiently dispatchable. When using redox couples of Br 2 /Br - and I 3 - /I - in the cathode side and anode side, respectively, the cell can be directly charged upon solar irradiation, yielding a discharge potential of 0.5 V with good round-trip efficiencies. This design is expected to be a potential alternative toward the development of affordable, inexhaustible, and clean solar-energy technologies.

Effect of sulfate ions on the crystallization and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/diatomite composite photocatalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jinjun; Wang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Jimei; Wang, Jing; Ji, Zhijiang

2016-01-01

TiO2 nanoparticles were immobilized on diatomite by hydrolysis-deposition method using titanium tetrachloride as precursor. The effect of sulfate ions on the crystallization and photocatalytic activity of TiO2/diatomite composite photocatalyst was characterized by TG-DSC, XRD, BET surface area, SEM, FT-IR spectroscopy, XPS and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The results indicate that addition of a small amount of sulfate ions promotes the formation of anatase phase and inhibits the transformation from anatase to rutile. On the other hand, sulfate ions immobilized on the surface of TiO2/diatomite have strong affinity for electrons, capturing the photo-generated electrons, which hinders the recombination of electrons and holes.

Improved electron transfer and plasmonic effect in dye-sensitized solar cells with bi-functional Nb-doped TiO2/Ag ternary nanostructures.

PubMed

Park, Jung Tae; Chi, Won Seok; Jeon, Harim; Kim, Jong Hak

2014-03-07

TiO2 nanoparticles are surface-modified via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with a hydrophilic poly(oxyethylene)methacrylate (POEM), which can coordinate to the Ag precursor, i.e. silver trifluoromethanesulfonate (AgCF3SO3). Following the reduction of Ag ions, a Nb2O5 doping process and calcination at 450 °C, bi-functional Nb-doped TiO2/Ag ternary nanostructures are generated. The resulting nanostructures are characterized by energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy (EF-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible spectroscopy. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) based on the Nb-doped TiO2/Ag nanostructure photoanode with a polymerized ionic liquid (PIL) as the solid polymer electrolyte shows an overall energy conversion efficiency (η) of 6.9%, which is much higher than those of neat TiO2 (4.7%) and Nb-doped TiO2 (5.4%). The enhancement of η is mostly due to the increase of current density, attributed to the improved electron transfer properties including electron injection, collection, and plasmonic effects without the negative effects of charge recombination or problems with corrosion. These properties are supported by intensity modulated photocurrent/voltage spectroscopy (IMPS/IMVS) and incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) measurements.

Tribological properties and surface structures of ion implanted 9Cr18Mo stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fengbin, Liu; Guohao, Fu; Yan, Cui; Qiguo, Sun; Min, Qu; Yi, Sun

2013-07-01

The polished quenched-and-tempered 9Cr18Mo steels were implanted with N ions and Ti ions respectively at a fluence of 2 × 1017 ions/cm2. The mechanical properties of the samples were investigated by using nanoindenter and tribometer. The results showed that the ion implantations would improve the nanohardness and tribological property, especially N ion implantation. The surface analysis of the implanted samples was carried out by using XRD, XPS and AES. It indicated that the surface exhibits graded layers after ion implantation. For N ion implantation, the surface about 20 nm thickness is mainly composed of supersaturated interstitial N solid solution, oxynitrides, CrxCy phase and metal nitrides. In the subsurface region, the metal nitrides dominate and the other phases disappear. For Ti ion implantation, the surface of about 20 nm thickness is mainly composed of titanium oxides and carbon amorphous phase, the interstitial solid solution of Ti in Fe is abundant in the subsurface region. The surface components and structures have significant contributions to the improved mechanical properties.

Strong efficiency improvement in dye-sensitized solar cells by novel multi-dimensional TiO2 photoelectrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Fengyang; Ma, Rong; Jiang, Yongjian

2018-03-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) often exhibit superior power conversion performance. Here we report a DSSC with novel hierarchical TiO2 composite structure (TCS) composed of anatase TiO2 micro-spheres and rutile TiO2 nanobelt framework by hydrothermal approach for high-performance. As photoanode, the TCS based DSSC shows a strong efficiency enhancement by 58% compared with Degussa TiO2 (P25)-DSSC (4.33%). The excellent performance is mainly attribute to its special multi-dimensional structures of TiO2: much active sites of 0D nanoparticle with exposed excellent {001} facet, special electronic transmission channel of 1D nanobelt, good dye adsorption capacity of 2D nanosheet and high light scattering ability of 3D micro-spheres. The novel multi-dimensional TCS materials will open up a new avenue to the electronic devices fields.

Optical characterization of poly(methyl methacrylate) implanted with low energy ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Renu; Kumar, Vijay; Goyal, Parveen Kumar; Kumar, Shyam

2012-12-01

The samples of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were subjected to 100 keV N+ and Ar+ ion implantation up to a maximum fluence of 2 × 1016 ions/cm2. The effect of ion implantation on the optical energy gap and the refractive index has been studied through UV-visible spectroscopy. The results clearly indicate a decrease in the values of optical energy gap and an increase in the values of refractive index as an effect of ion implantation corresponding to both of the ions. It has also been observed that the changes induced by the implanted ions are more pronounced for N+ ions in comparison to Ar+ ions. This variation has been correlated with the calculated ranges of these ions in PMMA polymer using Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) code. Finally, an attempt has been made to correlate all the observed changes with the induced structural changes as revealed through Raman spectroscopy.

3D nanostructured N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts with enhanced visible absorption.

PubMed

Cho, Sumin; Ahn, Changui; Park, Junyong; Jeon, Seokwoo

2018-05-24

Considering the environmental issues, it is essential to develop highly efficient and recyclable photocatalysts in purification systems. Conventional TiO2 nanoparticles have strong intrinsic oxidizing power and high surface area, but are difficult to collect after use and rarely absorb visible light, resulting in low photocatalytic efficiency under sunlight. Here we develop a new type of highly efficient and recyclable photocatalyst made of a three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured N-doped TiO2 monolith with enhanced visible light absorption. To prepare the sample, an ultrathin TiN layer (∼10 nm) was conformally coated using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on 3D nanostructured TiO2. Subsequent thermal annealing at low temperature (550 °C) converted TiN to anatase phase N-doped TiO2. The resulting 3D N-doped TiO2 showed ∼33% enhanced photocatalytic performance compared to pure 3D TiO2 of equivalent thickness under sunlight due to the reduced bandgap, from 3.2 eV to 2.75 eV through N-doping. The 3D N-doped TiO2 monolith could be easily collected and reused at least 5 times without any degradation in photocatalytic performance.

Influence of N2 annealing on TiO2 tubes structure and its photocatalytic activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiaoxiang; Pan, Zhanchang; Yu, Ke; Xiao, Jun; Wu, Shoukun; Li, Jinghong; Chen, Chun; Lin, Yingsheng; Hu, Guanghui; Xu, Yanbin

2018-02-01

In this work, the TiO2 tubes (TBs) were prepared by solvothermal method. The morphology and phase structure of TiO2 TBs is significantly affected by N2 annealing temperature. XRD was used to characterize the phase structure of the as-prepared samples. The morphology and surface areas were characterized by SEM and N2 adsorption-desorption, which show that the tubes were assembled with about 100-nm nanosheets and small ball particles under 400 and 600 °C N2 annealing; when temperature reached 800 °C, the surface of tubes appeared a lot of collapse and many large holes. In addition, the surface areas of 400 °C TiO2, 600 °C TiO2, and 800 °C TiO2 TBs were significantly affected by N2 annealing. Most importantly, the UV-vis and electrochemical tests demonstrate 600 °C TiO2 TBs exhibit higher absorption intensity and photocurrent; thus, it possess on better photocatalytic activity. Therefore, the photocatalytic performance for TiO2 TBs is significantly co-affected by surface area and mix-phase. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

S180 cell growth on low ion energy plasma treated TiO 2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhayal, Marshal; Cho, Su-In; Moon, Jun Young; Cho, Su-Jin; Zykova, Anna

2008-03-01

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to characterise the effects of low energy (<2 eV) argon ion plasma surface modification of TiO 2 thin films deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputter system. The low energy argon ion plasma surface modification of TiO 2 in a two-stage hybrid system had increased the proportion of surface states of TiO 2 as Ti 3+. The proportion of carbon atoms as alcohol/ether (C sbnd OX) was decreased with increase the RF power and carbon atoms as carbonyl (C dbnd O) functionality had increased for low RF power treatment. The proportion of C( dbnd O)OX functionality at the surface was decreased at low power and further increase in power has showed an increase in its relive proportion at the surface. The growth of S180 cells was observed and it seems that cells are uniformly spreads on tissue culture polystyrene surface and untreated TiO 2 surfaces whereas small-localised cell free area can be seen on plasma treated TiO 2 surfaces which may be due to decrease in C( dbnd O)OX, increase in C dbnd O and active sites at the surface. A relatively large variation in the surface functionalities with no change in the surface roughness was achieved by different RF plasma treatments of TiO 2 surface whereas no significant change in S180 cell growth with different plasma treatments. This may be because cell growth on TiO 2 was mainly influenced by nano-surface characteristics of oxide films rather than surface chemistry.

Photoluminescence and compositional-structural properties of ion-beam sputter deposited Er-doped TiO2-xNx films: Their potential as a temperature sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scoca, D.; Morales, M.; Merlo, R.; Alvarez, F.; Zanatta, A. R.

2015-05-01

Er-doped TiO2-xNx films were grown by Ar+ ion-beam sputtering a Ti + Er target under different N2 + O2 high-purity atmospheres. The compositional-structural properties of the samples were investigated after thermal annealing the films up to 1000 °C under a flow of oxygen. Sample characterization included x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence experiments. According to the experimental data, both composition and atomic structure of the samples were very sensitive to the growth conditions and annealing temperature. In the as-deposited form, the N-rich TiO2-xNx films presented TiN crystallites and no photoluminescence. As the thermal treatments proceed, the films were transformed into TiO2 and Er3+-related light emission were observed in the visible and near-infrared ranges at room-temperature. Whereas the development of TiO2 occurred due to the insertion-diffusion of oxygen in the films, light emission originated because of optical bandgap widening and/or structural-chemical variations in the vicinity of the Er3+ ions. Finally, the photoluminescence results in the visible range suggested the potential of the present samples in producing an optically based temperature sensor in the ˜150-500 K range.

Enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2) by doping it with calcium ions.

PubMed

Akpan, U G; Hameed, B H

2011-05-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) with an enhanced photocatalytic activity was developed by doping it with calcium ions through a sol-gel method. The developed photocatalysts were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, N(2) physisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction. Their surface morphologies were studied using surface scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XPS analyses confirmed the presence of Ti, O, Ca, and C in the Ca-doped TiO(2) sample. The activities of the catalysts were evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of an azo dye, acid red 1 (AR1), using UV light irradiation. The results of the investigations revealed that the samples calcined at 300 °C for 3.6h in a cyclic (2 cycles) mode had the best performance. Lower percentage dopant, 0.3-1.0 wt.%, enhanced the photocatalytic activity of TiO(2), with the best at 0.5 wt.% Ca-TiO(2). The performance of 0.5 wt.% Ca-TiO(2) in the degradation of AR1 was far superior to that of a commercial anatase TiO(2) Sigma product CAS No. 1317-70-0. The effect of pH on the degradation of AR1 was studied, and the pH of the dye solution exerted a great influence on the degradation of the dye. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rational design of anatase TiO2 architecture with hierarchical nanotubes and hollow microspheres for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jiuwang; Khan, Javid; Chai, Zhisheng; Yuan, Yufei; Yu, Xiang; Liu, Pengyi; Wu, Mingmei; Mai, Wenjie

2016-01-01

Large surface area, sufficient light-harvesting and superior electron transport property are the major factors for an ideal photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), which requires rational design of the nanoarchitectures and smart integration of state-of-the-art technologies. In this work, a 3D anatase TiO2 architecture consisting of vertically aligned 1D hierarchical TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) with ultra-dense branches (HTNTs, bottom layer) and 0D hollow TiO2 microspheres with rough surface (HTS, top layer) is first successfully constructed on transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide glass through a series of facile processes. When used as photoanodes, the DSSCs achieve a very large short-current density of 19.46 mA cm-2 and a high overall power conversion efficiency of 8.38%. The remarkable photovoltaic performance is predominantly ascribed to the enhanced charge transport capacity of the NTs (function as the electron highway), the large surface area of the branches (act as the electron branch lines), the pronounced light harvesting efficiency of the HTS (serve as the light scattering centers), and the engineered intimate interfaces between all of them (minimize the recombination effect). Our work demonstrates a possibility of fabricating superior photoanodes for high-performance DSSCs by rational design of nanoarchitectures and smart integration of multi-functional components.

Deliberate Design of TiO2 Nanostructures towards Superior Photovoltaic Cells.

PubMed

Sun, Ziqi; Liao, Ting; Sheng, Liyuan; Kou, Liangzhi; Kim, Jung Ho; Dou, Shi Xue

2016-08-01

TiO2 nanostructures are being sought after as flexibly utilizable building blocks for the fabrication of the mesoporous thin-film photoelectrodes that are the heart of the third-generation photovoltaic devices, such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), and the recently promoted perovskite-type solar cells. Here, we report deliberate tailoring of TiO2 nanostructures for superior photovoltaic cells. Morphology engineering of TiO2 nanostructures is realized by designing synthetic protocols in which the precursor hydrolysis, crystal growth, and oligomer self-organization are precisely controlled. TiO2 nanostructures in forms varying from isolated nanocubes, nanorods, and cross-linked nanorods to complex hierarchical structures and shape-defined mesoporous micro-/nanostructures were successfully synthesized. The photoanodes made from the shape-defined mesoporous TiO2 microspheres and nanospindles presented superior performances, owing to the well-defined overall shapes and the inner ordered nanochannels, which allow not only a high amount of dye uptake, but also improved visible-light absorption. This study provides a new way to seek an optimal synthetic protocol to meet the required functionality of the nanomaterials. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Efficient silver modification of TiO2 nanotubes with enhanced photocatalytic activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jing; Ding, Lei; Xi, Yaoning; Shi, Liang; Su, Ge; Gao, Rongjie; Wang, Wei; Dong, Bohua; Cao, Lixin

2018-06-01

In this paper, Ag(CH3NH2)2+, Ag(NH3)2+ and Ag+ with different radii have been used as silver sources to find out the distribution of Ag ions on the H-TNT surface, which is critical to the final performance. The influence of this distribution on visible photocatalytic activity is further studied. The results indicate that, when Ag+ used as silver source with low concentration, these small sized silver ions mainly distribute on interlayer spacing of H-TNT. After heat-treatment and photo-reduction, the generated silver nanoparticles uniformly embed in the anatase TiO2 nanotube walls, and bring large interfacial area between Ag particles and TiO2 nanotubes. The separation effect of photogenerated electron-hole pair in TiO2 is enhanced by Ag particles, and achieves the best at 0.15 g/L, much higher than P25, TiO2/0, Ag-N@TiO2 and Ag-C-N@TiO2. This paper provides new ideas for the modification of TiO2 nanotubes.

Hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2-ZnO-graphene nanocomposite towards photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gayathri, S.; Jayabal, P.; Ramakrishnan, V.

2015-06-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) - Zinc oxide (ZnO) - Graphene (G) nanocomposite was successfully synthesized through facile hydrothermal method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and the micro-Raman spectroscopic technique revealed the formation of TiO2-ZnO-Graphene (TZG) nanocomposite. The ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticles decorated graphene sheets were clearly noticeable in the Field Emission Scanning Electron Micrograph (FE-SEM). The UV-Visible absorption spectra clearly indicated that the formation of TZG nanocomposite enriched the absorption in the visible region. Hence, the prepared nanocomposite can be used as photocatalyst to remove organic dyes from water and as photoanode in the fabrication of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).

Nano-engineering of p-n CuFeO2-ZnO heterojunction photoanode with improved light absorption and charge collection for photoelectrochemical water oxidation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karmakar, Keshab; Sarkar, Ayan; Mandal, Kalyan; Gopal Khan, Gobinda

2017-08-01

The effective utilization of abundant visible solar light for photoelectrochemical water splitting is a green approach for energy harvesting, to reduce the enormous rise of carbon content in the atmosphere. Here, a novel efficient design strategy for p-n type nano-heterojunction photoanodes is demonstrated, with the goal of improving water splitting efficiency by growing low band gap p-CuFeO2 nanolayers on n-ZnO nanorods by an easy and scalable electrochemical route. The photoconversion efficiency of p-n CuFeO2/ZnO photoanodes is found to be ˜450% higher than that of pristine ZnO nanorod electrodes under visible solar light illumination (λ > 420 nm, intensity 10 mW cm-2). The p-n CuFeO2/ZnO nano-engineering not only boosts the visible light absorption but also resolves limitations regarding effective charge carrier separation and transportation due to interfacial band alignment. This photoanode also shows remarkably enhanced stability, where the formation of p-n nano-heterojunction enhances the easy migration of holes to the electrode/electrolyte interface, and of electrons to the counter electrode (Pt) for hydrogen generation. Therefore, this work demonstrates that p-n nano-engineering is a potential strategy to design light-harvesting electrodes for water splitting and clean energy generation.

Ion-implanted planar-buried-heterostructure diode laser

DOEpatents

Brennan, Thomas M.; Hammons, Burrell E.; Myers, David R.; Vawter, Gregory A.

1991-01-01

A Planar-Buried-Heterostructure, Graded-Index, Separate-Confinement-Heterostructure semiconductor diode laser 10 includes a single quantum well or multi-quantum well active stripe 12 disposed between a p-type compositionally graded Group III-V cladding layer 14 and an n-type compositionally graded Group III-V cladding layer 16. The laser 10 includes an ion implanted n-type region 28 within the p-type cladding layer 14 and further includes an ion implanted p-type region 26 within the n-type cladding layer 16. The ion implanted regions are disposed for defining a lateral extent of the active stripe.

Hyperbranched quasi-1D TiO2 nanostructure for hybrid organic-inorganic solar cells.

PubMed

Ghadirzadeh, Ali; Passoni, Luca; Grancini, Giulia; Terraneo, Giancarlo; Li Bassi, Andrea; Petrozza, Annamaria; Di Fonzo, Fabio

2015-04-15

The performance of hybrid solar cells is strongly affected by the device morphology. In this work, we demonstrate a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl)/TiO2 hybrid solar cell where the TiO2 photoanode comprises an array of tree-like hyperbranched quasi-1D nanostructures self-assembled from the gas phase. This advanced architecture enables us to increase the power conversion efficiency to over 1%, doubling the efficiency with respect to state of the art devices employing standard mesoporous titania photoanodes. This improvement is attributed to several peculiar features of this array of nanostructures: high interfacial area; increased optical density thanks to the enhanced light scattering; and enhanced crystallization of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) inside the quasi-1D nanostructure.

Highly Active GaN-Stabilized Ta3 N5 Thin-Film Photoanode for Solar Water Oxidation.

PubMed

Zhong, Miao; Hisatomi, Takashi; Sasaki, Yutaka; Suzuki, Sayaka; Teshima, Katsuya; Nakabayashi, Mamiko; Shibata, Naoya; Nishiyama, Hiroshi; Katayama, Masao; Yamada, Taro; Domen, Kazunari

2017-04-18

Ta 3 N 5 is a very promising photocatalyst for solar water splitting because of its wide spectrum solar energy utilization up to 600 nm and suitable energy band position straddling the water splitting redox reactions. However, its development has long been impeded by poor compatibility with electrolytes. Herein, we demonstrate a simple sputtering-nitridation process to fabricate high-performance Ta 3 N 5 film photoanodes owing to successful synthesis of the vital TaO δ precursors. An effective GaN coating strategy is developed to remarkably stabilize Ta 3 N 5 by forming a crystalline nitride-on-nitride structure with an improved nitride/electrolyte interface. A stable, high photocurrent density of 8 mA cm -2 was obtained with a CoPi/GaN/Ta 3 N 5 photoanode at 1.2 V RHE under simulated sunlight, with O 2 and H 2 generated at a Faraday efficiency of unity over 12 h. Our vapor-phase deposition method can be used to fabricate high-performance (oxy)nitrides for practical photoelectrochemical applications. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Photooxidative desulfurization for diesel using Fe / N - TiO2 photocatalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Muhammad Saqib; Kait, Chong Fai; Mutalib, Mohd Ibrahim Abdul

2014-10-01

A series of N - TiO2 with different mol% N was synthesized via sol-gel method and characterized using thermal gravimetric analyzer and raman spectroscopy. 0.2 wt% Fe was incorporated onto the calcined (200°C) N - TiO2 followed by calcination at 200°C, 250°C and 300°C. Photooxidative desulfurization was conducted in the presence of 0.2wt% Fe / N - TiO2 with different mol% N with and without oxidant (H2O2). Oxidative desulfurization was only achieved when H2O2 was used while without H2O2 no major effect on the sulfur removal. 0.2Fe -30N - H2O2 photocatalysts showed best performance at all calcination temperatures as compared to other mol% N - H2O2 photocatalysts. 16.45% sulfur removal was achieved using photocatalysts calcined at 300 °C.

Developing the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using a SnO2-doped graphene oxide hybrid nanocomposite as a photo-anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasikumar, Ragu; Chen, Tse-Wei; Chen, Shen-Ming; Rwei, Syang-Peng; Ramaraj, Sayee Kannan

2018-05-01

Tin(IV) oxide nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) doped on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) sheets for application in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs). The effective incorporation of SnO2 on the surface of GO sheets were confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Raman spectroscopy. The morphology of the GO/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis. This current study involvement with the effect of different photo-anodes such as GO, SnO2, and GO/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the triiodide electrolyte based DSSCs. Remarkably, GO/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite based photo-anode for DSSC observed PCE of 8.3% and it is about 12% higher than that of un-doped TiO2 photo-anode. The equivalent short-circuit photocurrent density (Jsc) of 16.67 mA cm-2, open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.77 V, and fill factor (FF) of 0.65 respectively. The achieved results propose that the hybrid nanocomposite is an appropriate photo-anodic material for DSSCs applications.

NiO nanoparticles anchored on P-doped α-Fe2O3 nanoarrays: an efficient hole extraction p-n heterojunction photoanode for water oxidation.

PubMed

Li, Feng; Li, Jing; Zhang, Jie; Gao, Lili; Long, Xuefeng; Hu, Yiping; Li, Shuwen; Jin, Jun; Ma, Jiantai

2018-05-16

The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting efficiency of hematite-based photoanode is still far from the theoretical value due to its poor surface reaction kinetics and high density of surface trapping states. To solve these drawbacks, a photoanode consisting of NiO nanoparticles anchored on a gradient P-doped α-Fe2O3 nanorod (NR) array (NiO/P-α-Fe2O3) was fabricated to achieve optimal light absorption and charge separation, and rapid surface reaction kinetic. Specifically, the photoanode with the NR arrays structure allowed high mass transport rate to be achieved while the P-doping effectively decreased surface trapping sites and improved the electrical conductivity of α-Fe2O3. Furthermore, the p-n junction formed between the NiO and P-α-Fe2O3 can further improve the PEC performance due to the efficient hole extraction property and water oxidization catalytic activity of NiO. Consequently, the NiO/P-α-Fe2O3 NR photoanode produced a high photocurrent density of 2.08 mA cm-2 at 1.23V vs. RHE and a 110 mV cathodic shift of the onset potential. This rational design of structure offers a new perspective in exploring high performance PEC photoanodes. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High Efficiency Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Constructed with Composites of TiO2 and the Hot-bubbling Synthesized Ultra-Small SnO2 Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Mao, Xiaoli; Zhou, Ru; Zhang, Shouwei; Ding, Liping; Wan, Lei; Qin, Shengxian; Chen, Zhesheng; Xu, Jinzhang; Miao, Shiding

2016-01-13

An efficient photo-anode for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) should have features of high loading of dye molecules, favorable band alignments and good efficiency in electron transport. Herein, the 3.4 nm-sized SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) of high crystallinity, synthesized via the hot-bubbling method, were incorporated with the commercial TiO2 (P25) particles to fabricate the photo-anodes. The optimal percentage of the doped SnO2 NCs was found at ~7.5% (SnO2/TiO2, w/w), and the fabricated DSSC delivers a power conversion efficiency up to 6.7%, which is 1.52 times of the P25 based DSSCs. The ultra-small SnO2 NCs offer three benefits, (1) the incorporation of SnO2 NCs enlarges surface areas of the photo-anode films, and higher dye-loading amounts were achieved; (2) the high charge mobility provided by SnO2 was confirmed to accelerate the electron transport, and the photo-electron recombination was suppressed by the highly-crystallized NCs; (3) the conduction band minimum (CBM) of the SnO2 NCs was uplifted due to the quantum size effects, and this was found to alleviate the decrement in the open-circuit voltage. This work highlights great contributions of the SnO2 NCs to the improvement of the photovoltaic performances in the DSSCs.

High Efficiency Dye-sensitized Solar Cells Constructed with Composites of TiO2 and the Hot-bubbling Synthesized Ultra-Small SnO2 Nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Mao, Xiaoli; Zhou, Ru; Zhang, Shouwei; Ding, Liping; Wan, Lei; Qin, Shengxian; Chen, Zhesheng; Xu, Jinzhang; Miao, Shiding

2016-01-01

An efficient photo-anode for the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) should have features of high loading of dye molecules, favorable band alignments and good efficiency in electron transport. Herein, the 3.4 nm-sized SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) of high crystallinity, synthesized via the hot-bubbling method, were incorporated with the commercial TiO2 (P25) particles to fabricate the photo-anodes. The optimal percentage of the doped SnO2 NCs was found at ~7.5% (SnO2/TiO2, w/w), and the fabricated DSSC delivers a power conversion efficiency up to 6.7%, which is 1.52 times of the P25 based DSSCs. The ultra-small SnO2 NCs offer three benefits, (1) the incorporation of SnO2 NCs enlarges surface areas of the photo-anode films, and higher dye-loading amounts were achieved; (2) the high charge mobility provided by SnO2 was confirmed to accelerate the electron transport, and the photo-electron recombination was suppressed by the highly-crystallized NCs; (3) the conduction band minimum (CBM) of the SnO2 NCs was uplifted due to the quantum size effects, and this was found to alleviate the decrement in the open-circuit voltage. This work highlights great contributions of the SnO2 NCs to the improvement of the photovoltaic performances in the DSSCs. PMID:26758941

The effect of ions on the magnetic moment of vacancy for ion-implanted 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, B.; Zhang, Y. M.; Dong, L. P.; Wang, Y. T.; Jia, R. X.

2017-04-01

The structural properties and the spin states of vacancies in ion implanted silicon carbide samples are analyzed by experimental measurements along with first-principles calculations. Different types and dosages of ions (N+, O+, and B+) were implanted in the 4H-silicon carbide single crystal. The Raman spectra, positron annihilation spectroscopy, and magnetization-magnetic field curves of the implanted samples were measured. The fitting results of magnetization-magnetic field curves reveal that samples implanted with 1 × 1016 cm-2 N+ and O+ ions generate paramagnetic centers with various spin states of J = 1 and J = 0.7, respectively. While for other implanted specimens, the spin states of the paramagnetic centers remain unchanged compared with the pristine sample. According to the positron annihilation spectroscopy and first-principles calculations, the change in spin states originates from the silicon vacancy carrying a magnetic moment of 3.0 μB in the high dosage N-implanted system and 2.0 μB in the O-doped system. In addition, the ratio of the concentration of implanted N ions and silicon vacancies will affect the magnetic moment of VSi. The formation of carbon vacancy which does not carry a local magnetic moment in B-implanted SiC can explain the invariability in the spin states of the paramagnetic centers. These results will help to understand the magnetic moments of vacancies in ion implanted 4H-SiC and provide a possible routine to induce vacancies with high spin states in SiC for the application in quantum technologies and spintronics.

Synthesis of uniform layered protonated titanate hierarchical spheres and their transformation to anatase TiO2 for lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Wu, Hao Bin; Lou, Xiong Wen David; Hng, Huey Hoon

2012-02-13

Layered protonated titanates (LPTs), a class of interesting inorganic layered materials, have been widely studied because of their many unique properties and their use as precursors to many important TiO(2)-based functional materials. In this work, we have developed a facile solvothermal method to synthesize hierarchical spheres (HSs) assembled from ultrathin LPT nanosheets. These LPT hierarchical spheres possess a porous structure with a large specific surface area and high stability. Importantly, the size and morphology of the LPT hierarchical spheres are easily tunable by varying the synthesis conditions. These LPT HSs can be easily converted to anatase TiO(2) HSs without significant structural alteration. Depending on the calcination atmosphere of air or N(2), pure anatase TiO(2) HSs or carbon-supported TiO(2) HSs, respectively, can be obtained. Remarkably, both types of TiO(2) HSs manifest excellent cyclability and rate capability when evaluated as anode materials for high-power lithium-ion batteries. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Significant enhancement of power conversion efficiency for dye sensitized solar cell using 1D/3D network nanostructures as photoanodes

PubMed Central

Wang, Hao; Wang, Baoyuan; Yu, Jichao; Hu, Yunxia; Xia, Chen; Zhang, Jun; Liu, Rong

2015-01-01

The single–crystalline TiO2 nanorod arrays with rutile phase have attracted much attention in the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) applications because of their superior chemical stability, better electron transport properties, higher refractive index and low production cost. However, it suffers from a low surface area as compared with TiO2 nanoparticle films. In order to enlarge the surface area of TiO2 nanorod arrays, the 1D nanorods/3D nanotubes sample was synthesized using a facile two-step hydrothermal process involving hydrothermal growth 1D/3D nanorods and followed by post-etching treatment. In such bi-layer structure, the oriented TiO2 nanorods layer could provide direct pathway for fast electron transportation, and the 3D nanotubes layer offers a higher surface area for dye loading, therefore, the 1D nanorods/3D nanotubes photoanode exhibited faster electron transport and higher surface area than either 1D or 3D nanostructures alone, and an highest efficiency of 7.68% was achieved for the DSSCs based on 1D nanorods/3D nanotubes photoanode with further TiCl4 treatment. PMID:25800933

Antibacterial activity and inflammation inhibition of ZnO nanoparticles embedded TiO2 nanotubes.

PubMed

Yao, Shenglian; Feng, Xujia; Lu, Jiaju; Zheng, Yudong; Wang, Xiumei; Volinsky, Alex A; Wang, Lu-Ning

2018-06-15

Titanium (Ti) with nanoscale structure on the surface exhibits excellent biocompatibility and bone integration. Once implanted, the surgical implantation may lead to bacterial infection and inflammatory reaction, which cause the implant failure. In this work, irregular and nanorod-shaped ZnO nanoparticles were doped into TiO 2 nanotubes (TNTs) with inner diameter of about 50 nm by electro-deposition. The antibacterial properties of ZnO incorporated into TiO 2 nanotubes (TNTs/ZnO) were evaluated using Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Zn ions released from the nanoparticles and the morphology could work together, improving antibacterial effectiveness up to 99.3% compared with the TNTs. Macrophages were cultured on the samples to determine their respective anti-inflammatory properties. The proliferation and viability of macrophages were evaluated by the CCK-8 method and Live&Dead stain, and the morphology of the cells was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that TNTs/ZnO has a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation and adhesion of macrophages, which could be used to prevent chronic inflammation and control the inflammatory reaction. Besides, the release of Zn ions from the ZnO nanoparticles is a long-term process, which could be beneficial for bone integration. Results demonstrate that ZnO deposited into TNTs improved the antibacterial effectiveness and weakened the inflammatory reaction of titanium-based implants, which is a promising approach to enhance their bioactivity.

Antibacterial activity and inflammation inhibition of ZnO nanoparticles embedded TiO2 nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Shenglian; Feng, Xujia; Lu, Jiaju; Zheng, Yudong; Wang, Xiumei; Volinsky, Alex A.; Wang, Lu-Ning

2018-06-01

Titanium (Ti) with nanoscale structure on the surface exhibits excellent biocompatibility and bone integration. Once implanted, the surgical implantation may lead to bacterial infection and inflammatory reaction, which cause the implant failure. In this work, irregular and nanorod-shaped ZnO nanoparticles were doped into TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs) with inner diameter of about 50 nm by electro-deposition. The antibacterial properties of ZnO incorporated into TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs/ZnO) were evaluated using Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Zn ions released from the nanoparticles and the morphology could work together, improving antibacterial effectiveness up to 99.3% compared with the TNTs. Macrophages were cultured on the samples to determine their respective anti-inflammatory properties. The proliferation and viability of macrophages were evaluated by the CCK-8 method and Live&Dead stain, and the morphology of the cells was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results indicated that TNTs/ZnO has a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation and adhesion of macrophages, which could be used to prevent chronic inflammation and control the inflammatory reaction. Besides, the release of Zn ions from the ZnO nanoparticles is a long-term process, which could be beneficial for bone integration. Results demonstrate that ZnO deposited into TNTs improved the antibacterial effectiveness and weakened the inflammatory reaction of titanium-based implants, which is a promising approach to enhance their bioactivity.

Photocatalytic behaviour of WO3/TiO2-N for diclofenac degradation using simulated solar radiation as an activation source.

PubMed

Cordero-García, A; Turnes Palomino, G; Hinojosa-Reyes, L; Guzmán-Mar, J L; Maya-Teviño, L; Hernández-Ramírez, A

2017-02-01

In this study, the photocatalytic removal of an emerging contaminant, diclofenac (DCF) sodium, was performed using the nitrogen-doped WO 3 /TiO 2 -coupled oxide catalyst (WO 3 /TiO 2 -N). The catalyst synthesis was accomplished by a sol-gel method using tetrabutyl orthotitanate (C 16 H 36 O 4 Ti), ammonium p-tungstate [(NH 4 ) 10 H 2 W 12 O 42 ·4H 2 O] and ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 ) as the nitrogen source. For comparison, TiO 2 and WO 3 /TiO 2 were also prepared under similar conditions. Analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy (DRS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were conducted to characterize the synthesized materials. The photocatalytic efficiency of the semiconductors was determined in a batch reactor irradiated with simulated solar light. Residual and mineralized DCF were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography, total organic carbon analysis and ion exchange chromatography. The results indicated that the tungsten atoms were dispersed on the surface of TiO 2 as WO 3 . The partial substitution of oxygen by nitrogen atoms into the lattice of TiO 2 was an important factor to improve the photocatalytic efficiency of WO 3 /TiO 2 . Therefore, the best photocatalytic activity was obtained with the WO 3 /TiO 2 -N 0.18 catalyst, reaching 100% DCF transformation at 250 kJ m -2 and complete mineralization at 400 kJ m -2 of solar-accumulated energy.

Photocatalytic oxidation of propylene on La and N codoped TiO2 nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jinfeng; Li, Haiyan; Zong, Lanlan; Li, Qiuye; Wang, Xiaodong; Zhang, Min; Yang, Jianjun

2015-02-01

Lanthanum- and nitrogen-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts was synthesized using orthorhombic nanotubes titanic acid as the precursor by a simple impregnation and subsequent calcination method. The morphology, phase structure, and properties of La- and N-codoped TiO2 were well characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The La-/N-codoped TiO2 showed excellent photoactivity of propylene oxidation compared with the single-doped TiO2 and La-/N-codoped P25 TiO2 nanoparticles under visible light irradiation. The origin of the enhancement of the visible light-responsive photocatalytic activity was discussed in detail.

Unconventionally prepared TiO2/g-C3N4 photocatalysts for photocatalytic decomposition of nitrous oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troppová, Ivana; Šihor, Marcel; Reli, Martin; Ritz, Michal; Praus, Petr; Kočí, Kamila

2018-02-01

The TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with the various TiO2:g-C3N4 weight ratios from 1:1 to 1:3 were prepared unconventionally by pressurized hot water processing in a flow regime. The parent TiO2 and g-C3N4 was prepared by thermal hydrolysis and thermal annealing, respectively. The nanocomposites as well as parent TiO2 and g-C3N4 were characterized using several complementary characterization methods and investigated in the photocatalytic decomposition of N2O under UVA (λ = 365 nm) irradiation. All the prepared TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites showed higher photocatalytic activity in comparison with the pure g-C3N4 and chiefly pure TiO2. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites was decreasing in the following sequence: TiO2/g-C3N4 (1:3) > TiO2/g-C3N4 (1:2) > TiO2/g-C3N4 (1:1). In comparison with the parent TiO2 or g-C3N4, the TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites' photocatalytic capability was significantly enhanced by coupling TiO2 with g-C3N4. The generation of TiO2/g-C3N4 Z-scheme photocatalyst mainly benefited from the effective separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs and the extended optical absorption range. The TiO2/g-C3N4 (1:3) nanocomposite showed the best photocatalytic behavior in a consequence of the optimal weight ratio of TiO2:g-C3N4 and the lowest band gap energy from all nanocomposites. The N2O conversion in its presence was 70.6% after 20 h of UVA irradiation.

Investigations of percutaneous uptake of ultrafine TiO 2 particles at the high energy ion nanoprobe LIPSION

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menzel, F.; Reinert, T.; Vogt, J.; Butz, T.

2004-06-01

Micronised TiO 2 particles with a diameter of about 15 nm are used in sunscreens as physical UV filter. Due to the small particle size it may be supposed that TiO 2 particles can pass through the uppermost horny skin layer ( stratum corneum) via intercellular channels and penetrate into deeper vital skin layers. Accumulations of TiO 2 particles in the skin can decrease the threshold for allergies of the immune system or cause allergic reactions directly. Spatially resolved ion beam analysis (PIXE, RBS, STIM and secondary electron imaging) was carried out on freeze-dried cross-sections of biopsies of pig skin, on which four different formulations containing TiO 2 particles were applied. The investigations were carried out at the high energy ion nanoprobe LIPSION in Leipzig with a 2.25 MeV proton beam, which was focused to a diameter of 1 μm. The analysis concentrated on the penetration depth and on pathways of the TiO 2 particles into the skin. In these measurements a penetration of TiO 2 particles through the s. corneum into the underlying stratum granulosum via intercellular space was found. Hair follicles do not seem to be important penetration pathways because no TiO 2 was detected inside. The TiO 2 particle concentration in the stratum spinosum was below the minimum detection limit of about 1 particle/μm 2. These findings show the importance of coating the TiO 2 particles in order to prevent damage of RNA and DNA of skin cells by photocatalytic reactions of the penetrated particles caused by absorption of UV light.

Development of ion implanted gallium arsenide transistors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunsperger, R.; Baron, R.

1972-01-01

Techniques were developed for creating bipolar microwave transistors in GaAs by ion implantation doping. The electrical properties of doped layers produced by the implantation of the light ions Be, Mg, and S were studied. Be, Mg, and S are suitable for forming the relatively deep base-collector junction at low ion energies. The electrical characteristics of ion-implanted diodes of both the mesa and planar types were determined. Some n-p-n planar transistor structures were fabricated by implantation of Mg to form the base regions and Si to form the emitters. These devices were found to have reasonably good base-collector and emitter-base junctions, but the current gain beta was small. The low was attributable to radiative recombination in the base region, which was extremely wide.

Hierarchical Honeycomb Br-, N-Codoped TiO2 with Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic H2 Production.

PubMed

Zhang, Chao; Zhou, Yuming; Bao, Jiehua; Sheng, Xiaoli; Fang, Jiasheng; Zhao, Shuo; Zhang, Yiwei; Chen, Wenxia

2018-06-06

The halogen elements modification strategy of TiO 2 encounters a bottleneck in visible-light H 2 production. Herein, we have for the first time reported a hierarchical honeycomb Br-, N-codoped anatase TiO 2 catalyst (HM-Br,N/TiO 2 ) with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H 2 production. During the synthesizing process, large amounts of meso-macroporous channels and TiO 2 nanosheets were fabricated in massive TiO 2 automatically, constructing the hierarchical honeycomb structure with large specific surface area (464 m 2 g -1 ). cetyl trimethylammonium bromide and melamine played a key role in constructing the meso-macroporous channels. Additionally, HM-Br,N/TiO 2 showed a high visible-light H 2 production rate of 2247 μmol h -1 g -1 , which is far more higher than single Br- or N-doped TiO 2 (0 or 63 μmol h -1 g -1 , respectively), thereby demonstrating the excellent synergistic effects of Br and N elements in H 2 evolution. In HM-Br,N/TiO 2 catalytic system, the codoped Br-N atoms could reduce the band gap of TiO 2 to 2.88 eV and the holes on acceptor levels (N acceptor) can passivate the electrons on donor levels (Br donor), thereby preventing charge carriers recombination significantly. Furthermore, the proposed HM-Br,N/TiO 2 fabrication strategy had a wide range of choices for N source (e.g., melamine, urea, and dicyandiamide) and it can be applied to other TiO 2 materials (e.g., P25) as well, thereby implying its great potential application in visible-light H 2 production. Finally, on the basis of experimental results, a possible photocatalytic H 2 production mechanism for HM-Br,N/TiO 2 was proposed.

Low-energy ion irradiation in HiPIMS to enable anatase TiO2 selective growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cemin, Felipe; Tsukamoto, Makoto; Keraudy, Julien; Antunes, Vinícius Gabriel; Helmersson, Ulf; Alvarez, Fernando; Minea, Tiberiu; Lundin, Daniel

2018-06-01

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has already demonstrated great potential for synthesizing the high-energy crystalline phase of titanium dioxide (rutile TiO2) due to large quantities of highly energetic ions present in the discharge. In this work, it is shown that the metastable anatase phase can also be obtained by HiPIMS. The required deposition conditions have been identified by systematically studying the phase formation, microstructure and chemical composition as a function of mode of target operation as well as of substrate temperature, working pressure, and peak current density. It is found that films deposited in the metal and transition modes are predominantly amorphous and contain substoichiometric TiO x compounds, while in compound mode they are well-crystallized and present only O2‑ ions bound to Ti4+, i.e. pure TiO2. Anatase TiO2 films are obtained for working pressures between 1 and 2 Pa, a peak current density of ~1 A cm‑2 and deposition temperatures lower than 300 °C. Rutile is favored at lower pressures (<1 Pa) and higher peak current densities (>2 A cm‑2), while amorphous films are obtained at higher pressures (5 Pa). Microstructural characterization of selected films is also presented.

Effect of doping (C or N) and co-doping (C+N) on the photoactive properties of magnetron sputtered titania coatings for the application of solar water-splitting.

PubMed

Rahman, M; Dang, B H Q; McDonnell, K; MacElroy, J M D; Dowling, D P

2012-06-01

The photocatalytic splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) photoanode is a potentially renewable source of chemical fuels. However, the size of the band gap (-3.2 eV) of the TiO2 photocatalyst leads to its relatively low photoactivity toward visible light in a PEC cell. The development of materials with smaller band gaps of approximately 2.4 eV is therefore necessary to operate PEC cells efficiently. This study investigates the effect of dopant (C or N) and co-dopant (C+N) on the physical, structural and photoactivity of TiO2 nano thick coating. TiO2 nano-thick coatings were deposited using a closed field DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique, from titanium target in argon plasma with trace addition of oxygen. In order to study the influence of doping such as C, N and C+N inclusions in the TiO2 coatings, trace levels of CO2 or N2 or CO2+N2 gas were introduced into the deposition chamber respectively. The properties of the deposited nano-coatings were determined using Spectroscopic Ellipsometry, SEM, AFM, Optical profilometry, XPS, Raman, X-ray diffraction UV-Vis spectroscopy and tri-electrode potentiostat measurements. Coating growth rate, structure, surface morphology and roughness were found to be significantly influenced by the types and amount of doping. Substitutional type of doping in all doped sample were confirmed by XPS. UV-vis measurement confirmed that doping (especially for C doped sample) facilitate photoactivity of sputtered deposited titania coating toward visible light by reducing bandgap. The photocurrent density (indirect indication of water splitting performance) of the C-doped photoanode was approximately 26% higher in comparison with un-doped photoanode. However, coating doped with nitrogen (N or N+C) does not exhibit good performance in the photoelectrochemical cell due to their higher charge recombination properties.

Microstructural and opto-electrical properties of chromium nitride films implanted with vanadium ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novaković, M.; Traverse, A.; Popović, M.; Lieb, K. P.; Zhang, K.; Bibić, N.

2012-07-01

We report on modifications of 280-nm thin polycrystalline CrN layers caused by vanadium ion implantation. The CrN layers were deposited at 150°C by d.c. reactive sputtering on Si(100) wafers and then implanted at room temperature with 80-keV V+ ions to fluences of 1×1017 and 2×1017 ions/cm2. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize changes in the structural properties of the films. Their optical and electrical properties were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy in reflection mode and electrical resistivity measurements. CrN was found to keep its cubic structure under the conditions of vanadium ion implantation used here. The initially partially non-metallic CrN layer displays metallic character under implantation, which may be related to the possible formation of Cr1-x V x N.

Tio2-dopamine complex implanted unilaterally in the caudate nucleus improves motor activity and behavior function of rats with induced hemiparkinsonism.

PubMed

Vergara-Aragón, Patricia; Domínguez-Marrufo, Leonardo Eduardo; Ibarra-Guerrero, Patricia; Hernandez-Ramírez, Heidi; Hernández-Téllez, Beatriz; López-Martínez, Irma Elena; Sánchez-Cervantes, Ivonne; Santiago-Jacinto, Patricia; García-Macedo, Jorge Alberto; Valverde-Aguilar, Guadalupe; Santiago, Julio

2011-01-01

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by malfunction of dopaminergic systems, and the current symptomatic treatment is to replace lost dopamine. For investigating mechanisms of pathogenesis and alternative treatments to compensate lack of dopamine (DA) activity in PD, the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned rat model of PD has been useful, these animals display apomorphine-induced contralateral rotational behavior, when they are examined after lesion. The purpose of this study was to assess Titania-dopamine (TiO2-DA) complexes implanted on the caudate nucleus for diminishing motor behavior alterations of the 6-OHDA rat model. Rats with 6-OHDA unilateral lesions received TiO2 alone or TiO2-DA implants, and were tested for open field (OF) gross motor crossing and rearing behaviors, and apomorphine-induced rotation (G) behavior. TiO2 complex have no effects on rearing OF and G behaviors, and a significant reducing effect on crossing motor behavior of normal rats compared to control non-treated rats throughout 56 days of observation. Interestingly, TiO2-DA treatment significant recovered motor crossing and rearing behaviors in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats, and diminished the G behaviors during 56 days of examination. Additionally, in the 6-OHDA-lesioned rats TiO2 treatment had a moderate recovering effect only on crossing behavior compared to lesioned non treated rats. Our results suggest that continuous release of dopamine in the caudate nucleus from TiO2-DA complex is capable of reversing gross motor deficits observed in the 6-OHDA-lesioned rat model of PD. Thistype of delivery system of DA represents a promising therapy for PD in humans.

Doping of two-dimensional MoS2 by high energy ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Kang; Zhao, Yuda; Lin, Ziyuan; Long, Yan; Wang, Yi; Chan, Mansun; Chai, Yang

2017-12-01

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been demonstrated to be promising candidates for next generation electronic circuits. Analogues to conventional Si-based semiconductors, p- and n-doping of 2D materials are essential for building complementary circuits. Controllable and effective doping strategies require large tunability of the doping level and negligible structural damage to ultrathin 2D materials. In this work, we demonstrate a doping method utilizing a conventional high-energy ion-implantation machine. Before the implantation, a Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) protective layer is used to decelerate the dopant ions and minimize the structural damage to MoS2, thus aggregating the dopants inside MoS2 flakes. By optimizing the implantation energy and fluence, phosphorus dopants are incorporated into MoS2 flakes. Our Raman and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results show that only negligibly structural damage is introduced to the MoS2 lattice during the implantation. P-doping effect by the incorporation of p+ is demonstrated by Photoluminescence (PL) and electrical characterizations. Thin PMMA protection layer leads to large kinetic damage but also a more significant doping effect. Also, MoS2 with large thickness shows less kinetic damage. This doping method makes use of existing infrastructures in the semiconductor industry and can be extended to other 2D materials and dopant species as well.

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on nickel oxide supported on nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposite as a photoanode.

PubMed

Ranganathan, Palraj; Sasikumar, Ragu; Chen, Shen-Ming; Rwei, Syang-Peng; Sireesha, Pedaballi

2017-10-15

We applied the nitrogen-doped graphene@nickel oxide (NGE/NiO) nanocomposite doped TiO 2 as a photo-anode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates by screen printing method. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.75% was achieved for this DSSCs device, which is greater than that of DSSCs devices using GO/TiO 2 , and NiO/TiO 2 based photo-anodes (PCE=8.55, and 9.11%). Also, the fill factor (FF) of the DSSCs devices using the NGE/NiO/TiO 2 nanocomposite photo-anode was better than that of other photo-anodes. The NGE/NiO/TiO 2 short-circuit photocurrent density (J sc ) of 19.04mAcm -2 , open circuit voltage (V oc ) of 0.76V, fill factor (FF) of 0.67 and dye absorption rate 0.21×10 -6 molcm -2 . The obtained results suggest that as-prepared NGE/NiO/TiO 2 nanocomposite is suitable photo-anode for DSSCs application. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hierarchical TiO2/C nanocomposite monoliths with a robust scaffolding architecture, mesopore-macropore network and TiO2-C heterostructure for high-performance lithium ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Hai-Bo; Yang, Yue; Chen, Li-Hua; Wang, Yun; Huang, Shao-Zhuan; Tao, Jia-Wei; Ma, Xiao-Ting; Hasan, Tawfique; Li, Yu; Xu, Yan; Su, Bao-Lian

2016-05-01

Engineering hierarchical structures of electrode materials is a powerful strategy for optimizing the electrochemical performance of an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report the fabrication of hierarchical TiO2/C nanocomposite monoliths by mediated mineralization and carbonization using bacterial cellulose (BC) as a scaffolding template as well as a carbon source. TiO2/C has a robust scaffolding architecture, a mesopore-macropore network and TiO2-C heterostructure. TiO2/C-500, obtained by calcination at 500 °C in nitrogen, contains an anatase TiO2-C heterostructure with a specific surface area of 66.5 m2 g-1. When evaluated as an anode material at 0.5 C, TiO2/C-500 exhibits a high and reversible lithium storage capacity of 188 mA h g-1, an excellent initial capacity of 283 mA h g-1, a long cycle life with a 94% coulombic efficiency preserved after 200 cycles, and a very low charge transfer resistance. The superior electrochemical performance of TiO2/C-500 is attributed to the synergistic effect of high electrical conductivity, anatase TiO2-C heterostructure, mesopore-macropore network and robust scaffolding architecture. The current material strategy affords a general approach for the design of complex inorganic nanocomposites with structural stability, and tunable and interconnected hierarchical porosity that may lead to the next generation of electrochemical supercapacitors with high energy efficiency and superior power density.Engineering hierarchical structures of electrode materials is a powerful strategy for optimizing the electrochemical performance of an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Herein, we report the fabrication of hierarchical TiO2/C nanocomposite monoliths by mediated mineralization and carbonization using bacterial cellulose (BC) as a scaffolding template as well as a carbon source. TiO2/C has a robust scaffolding architecture, a mesopore-macropore network and TiO2-C heterostructure. TiO2/C-500

Evaluation of lattice displacement in Mg - Implanted GaN by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishikata, N.; Kushida, K.; Nishimura, T.; Mishima, T.; Kuriyama, K.; Nakamura, T.

2017-10-01

Evaluation of lattice displacement in Mg-ion implanted GaN is studied by combining elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and Photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Mg-ion implantation into GaN single crystal wafer is performed with energies of 30 keV (ion fluence; 3.5 × 1014 cm-2) and 60 keV (6.5 × 1014 cm-2) at room temperature. The ERDA measurements using the 1.5 MeV helium beam can evaluate hydrogen from the surface to ∼300 nm. The hydrogen concentration for un-implanted and as-implanted GaN is 3.1 × 1014 cm-2 and 6.1 × 1014 cm-2 at around 265 nm in depth. χmin (the ratio of aligned and random yields) near the surface of the 〈0 0 0 1〉 direction for Ga is 1.61% for un-implanted and 2.51% for Mg-ion implanted samples. On the other hand, the value of χmin for N is 10.08% for un-implanted and 11.20% for Mg-ion implanted samples. The displacement concentration of Ga and N estimated from these χmin values is 4.01 × 1020 cm-3 and 5.46 × 1020 cm-3, respectively. This suggests that Ga vacancy (VGa), N vacancy (VN), Ga interstitial (Gai), and N interstitial (Ni) is introduced in Mg-ion implanted GaN. A strong emission at around 400 nm in as-implanted GaN is related to a VN donor and some acceptor pairs. It is suggested that the origin of the very high resistivity after the Mg-ion implantation is attributed to the carrier compensation effect due to the deep level of Ni as a non-radiative center.

Different recycle behavior of Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions for phenol photodegradation over TiO2 and WO3.

PubMed

Wan, Lianghui; Sheng, Jiayi; Chen, Haihang; Xu, Yiming

2013-11-15

Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants on TiO2 and WO3 have been widely studied, but the effects of Cu(2+) and Fe(3+) ions still remain unclear. In this work, we have found that the recycle behavior of Cu(2+) and Fe(3+) are greatly dependent on the photocatalytic activity of metal oxide used. With TiO2 (P25, anatase, and rutile), all the time profiles of phenol degradation in water under UV light well fitted to the apparent first-order rate equation. On the addition of Cu(2+), phenol degradation on anatase, rutile and WO3 also followed the first-order kinetics. On the addition of Fe(3+), the initial rate of phenol degradation on each oxide was increased, but only the reactions on three TiO2 became to follow the first order kinetics after half an hour. The relevant rate constants for phenol degradation in the presence of Cu(2+) or Fe(3+) were larger than those in the absence of metal ions. Under visible light, phenol degradation on WO3 was also accelerated on the addition of Fe(3+) or Cu(2+). Moreover, several influencing factors were examined, including the metal ion photolysis in solution. It becomes clear that as electron scavengers of TiO2 and WO3, Fe(3+) is better than Cu(2+), while they are better than O2. We propose that Fe(3+) recycle occurs through H2O2, photogenerated from TiO2, not from WO3, while Cu(2+) regeneration on a moderate photocatalyst is through the dissolved O2 in water. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Detection of deep-level defects and reduced carrier concentration in Mg-ion-implanted GaN before high-temperature annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akazawa, Masamichi; Yokota, Naoshige; Uetake, Kei

2018-02-01

We report experimental results for the detection of deep-level defects in GaN after Mg ion implantation before high-temperature annealing. The n-type GaN samples were grown on GaN free-standing substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Mg ions were implanted at 50 keV with a small dosage of 1.5×1011 cm-2, which did not change the conduction type of the n-GaN. By depositing Al2O3 and a Ni/Au electrode onto the implanted n-GaN, metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) diodes were fabricated and tested. The measured capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics showed a particular behavior with a plateau region and a region with an anomalously steep slope. Fitting to the experimental C-V curves by simulation showed the existence of deep-level defects and a reduction of the carrier concentration near the GaN surface. By annealing at 800oC, the density of the deep-level defects was reduced and the carrier concentration partially recovered.

Electric Field-Controlled Ion Transport In TiO2 Nanochannel.

PubMed

Li, Dan; Jing, Wenheng; Li, Shuaiqiang; Shen, Hao; Xing, Weihong

2015-06-03

On the basis of biological ion channels, we constructed TiO2 membranes with rigid channels of 2.3 nm to mimic biomembranes with flexible channels; an external electric field was employed to regulate ion transport in the confined channels at a high ionic strength in the absence of electrical double layer overlap. Results show that transport rates for both Na+ and Mg2+ were decreased irrespective of the direction of the electric field. Furthermore, a voltage-gated selective ion channel was formed, the Mg2+ channel closed at -2 V, and a reversed relative electric field gradient was at the same order of the concentration gradient, whereas the Na+ with smaller Stokes radius and lower valence was less sensitive to the electric field and thus preferentially occupied and passed the channel. Thus, when an external electric field is applied, membranes with larger nanochannels have promising applications in selective separation of mixture salts at a high concentration.

Fabrication of hierarchically porous TiO2 nanofibers by microemulsion electrospinning and their application as anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

PubMed

Zhang, Jin; Cai, Yibing; Hou, Xuebin; Song, Xiaofei; Lv, Pengfei; Zhou, Huimin; Wei, Qufu

2017-01-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanofibers have been widely applied in various fields including photocatalysis, energy storage and solar cells due to the advantages of low cost, high abundance and nontoxicity. However, the low conductivity of ions and bulk electrons hinder its rapid development in lithium-ion batteries (LIB). In order to improve the electrochemical performances of TiO 2 nanomaterials as anode for LIB, hierarchically porous TiO 2 nanofibers with different tetrabutyl titanate (TBT)/paraffin oil ratios were prepared as anode for LIB via a versatile single-nozzle microemulsion electrospinning (ME-ES) method followed by calcining. The experimental results indicated that TiO 2 nanofibers with the higher TBT/paraffin oil ratio demonstrated more axially aligned channels and a larger specific surface area. Furthermore, they presented superior lithium-ion storage properties in terms of specific capacity, rate capability and cycling performance compared with solid TiO 2 nanofibers for LIB. The initial discharge and charge capacity of porous TiO 2 nanofibers with a TBT/paraffin oil ratio of 2.25 reached up to 634.72 and 390.42 mAh·g -1 , thus resulting in a coulombic efficiency of 61.51%; and the discharge capacity maintained 264.56 mAh·g -1 after 100 cycles, which was much higher than that of solid TiO 2 nanofibers. TiO 2 nanofibers with TBT/paraffin oil ratio of 2.25 still obtained a high reversible capacity of 204.53 mAh·g -1 when current density returned back to 40 mA·g -1 after 60 cycles at increasing stepwise current density from 40 mA·g -1 to 800 mA·g -1 . Herein, hierarchically porous TiO 2 nanofibers have the potential to be applied as anode for lithium-ion batteries in practical applications.

An ingenious strategy of preparing TiO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalyst: In situ growth of TiO2 nanocrystals on g-C3N4 nanosheets via impregnation-calcination method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Guanghui; Zhang, Tianyong; Li, Bin; Jiang, Shuang; Zhang, Xia; Hai, Li; Chen, Xingwei; Wu, Wubin

2018-03-01

An ingenious method was employed to design and fabricate the TiO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction photocatalysts in this study. The thermal oxidation etching of g-C3N4 nanosheets and the in situ growth of TiO2 nanocrystal on the surface of g-C3N4 nanosheets were completed simultaneously by the calcination process. The g-C3N4 nanosheets played a crucial role in regulating and assembling the structures and morphologies of TiO2. Furthermore, the thickness and content of g-C3N4, and the crystallinity of TiO2 in TiO2/g-C3N4 composites could be regulated and controlled by the calcination temperature. Among the resultant TiO2/g-C3N4 samples, the TiO2/g-C3N4 sample with 41.6 wt% g-C3N4 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. It could degrade almost all MO molecules under visible light irradiation within 3 h. Moreover, it displayed higher visible light photocatalytic performance for degrading MO solution than pure g-C3N4 and D-TiO2. The synergistic effect between TiO2 and g-C3N4 makes significant contributions to the enhancement of the visible light photocatalytic activity. In addition, the favorable photocatalytic performance of TiO2/g-C3N4 nanocomposites is also attributed to the porous structures and uniform morphologies, and large surface area. Furthermore, the resultant TiO2/g-C3N4 exhibits excellent photocatalytic stability. Radical trapping experiments indicated that rad O2- and h+ were the main reactive species during the photodegradation process under visible light irradiation. Hopefully, the results can offer new design and strategy for preparing other g-C3N4-based nanocomposites for environmental and energy applications.

Low-temperature electrodeposition approach leading to robust mesoscopic anatase TiO2 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patra, Snehangshu; Andriamiadamanana, Christian; Tulodziecki, Michal; Davoisne, Carine; Taberna, Pierre-Louis; Sauvage, Frédéric

2016-02-01

Anatase TiO2, a wide bandgap semiconductor, likely the most worldwide studied inorganic material for many practical applications, offers unequal characteristics for applications in photocatalysis and sun energy conversion. However, the lack of controllable, cost-effective methods for scalable fabrication of homogeneous thin films of anatase TiO2 at low temperatures (ie. < 100 °C) renders up-to-date deposition processes unsuited to flexible plastic supports or to smart textile fibres, thus limiting these wearable and easy-to-integrate emerging technologies. Here, we present a very versatile template-free method for producing robust mesoporous films of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 at temperatures of/or below 80 °C. The individual assembly of the mesoscopic particles forming ever-demonstrated high optical quality beads of TiO2 affords, with this simple methodology, efficient light capture and confinement into the photo-anode, which in flexible dye-sensitized solar cell technology translates into a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 7.2% under A.M.1.5G conditions.

Low-temperature electrodeposition approach leading to robust mesoscopic anatase TiO2 films

PubMed Central

Patra, Snehangshu; Andriamiadamanana, Christian; Tulodziecki, Michal; Davoisne, Carine; Taberna, Pierre-Louis; Sauvage, Frédéric

2016-01-01

Anatase TiO2, a wide bandgap semiconductor, likely the most worldwide studied inorganic material for many practical applications, offers unequal characteristics for applications in photocatalysis and sun energy conversion. However, the lack of controllable, cost-effective methods for scalable fabrication of homogeneous thin films of anatase TiO2 at low temperatures (ie. < 100 °C) renders up-to-date deposition processes unsuited to flexible plastic supports or to smart textile fibres, thus limiting these wearable and easy-to-integrate emerging technologies. Here, we present a very versatile template-free method for producing robust mesoporous films of nanocrystalline anatase TiO2 at temperatures of/or below 80 °C. The individual assembly of the mesoscopic particles forming ever-demonstrated high optical quality beads of TiO2 affords, with this simple methodology, efficient light capture and confinement into the photo-anode, which in flexible dye-sensitized solar cell technology translates into a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 7.2% under A.M.1.5G conditions. PMID:26911529

Enhanced photovoltaic performance of a quantum dot-sensitized solar cell using a Nb-doped TiO2 electrode.

PubMed

Jiang, Lei; You, Ting; Deng, Wei-Qiao

2013-10-18

In this work Nb-doped anatase TiO2 nanocrystals are used as the photoanode of quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. A solar cell with CdS/CdSe quantum dots co-sensitized 2.5 mol% Nb-doped anatase TiO2 nanocrystals can achieve a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 3.3%, which is almost twice as high as the 1.7% obtained by a cell based on undoped TiO2 nanocrystals. The incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency can reach as high as 91%, which is a record for all quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells. Detailed analysis shows that such an enhancement is due to improved lifetime and diffusion length of electrons in the solar cell.

Two-step electrodeposition to fabricate the p-n heterojunction of a Cu2O/BiVO4 photoanode for the enhancement of photoelectrochemical water splitting.

PubMed

Bai, Shouli; Liu, Jingchao; Cui, Meng; Luo, Ruixian; He, Jing; Chen, Aifan

2018-05-15

A Cu2O/BiVO4 p-n heterojunction based photoanode in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is fabricated by a two-step electrodeposition method on an FTO substrate followed by annealing treatment. The structures and properties of the samples are characterized by XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, XPS and UV-visible spectra. The photoelectrochemical activity of the photoanode in water oxidation has been investigated and measured in a three electrode quartz cell system; the obtained maximum photocurrent density of 1.72 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE is 4.5 times higher than that of pristine BiVO4 thin films (∼0.38 mA cm-2). The heterojunction based photoanode also exhibits a tremendous cathodic shift of the onset potential (∼420 mV) and enhancement in the IPCE value by more than 4-fold. The enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of the Cu2O/BiVO4 photoelectrode are attributed to the efficient separation of the photoexcited electron-hole pairs caused by the inner electronic field (IEF) of the p-n heterojunction.

Kinetics of Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Methanol on Hematite Photoanodes

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The kinetics of photoelectrochemical (PEC) oxidation of methanol, as a model organic substrate, on α-Fe2O3 photoanodes are studied using photoinduced absorption spectroscopy and transient photocurrent measurements. Methanol is oxidized on α-Fe2O3 to formaldehyde with near unity Faradaic efficiency. A rate law analysis under quasi-steady-state conditions of PEC methanol oxidation indicates that rate of reaction is second order in the density of surface holes on hematite and independent of the applied potential. Analogous data on anatase TiO2 photoanodes indicate similar second-order kinetics for methanol oxidation with a second-order rate constant 2 orders of magnitude higher than that on α-Fe2O3. Kinetic isotope effect studies determine that the rate constant for methanol oxidation on α-Fe2O3 is retarded ∼20-fold by H/D substitution. Employing these data, we propose a mechanism for methanol oxidation under 1 sun irradiation on these metal oxide surfaces and discuss the implications for the efficient PEC methanol oxidation to formaldehyde and concomitant hydrogen evolution. PMID:28735533

TiO2 nanoparticles alleviate toxicity by reducing free Zn2+ ion in human primary epidermal keratinocytes exposed to ZnO nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kathawala, Mustafa Hussain; Ng, Kee Woei; Loo, Say Chye Joachim

2015-06-01

Nanoparticles have been a subject of intense safety screenings due to their influx in various applications. Although recent studies have reported on the plausible cytotoxicity of nanoparticles, many of these focused only on single-material nanoparticles, while the cytotoxicity of dual-nanoparticle systems (e.g., ZnO with TiO2) has remained unexplored. For example, commercial products like sunscreens and cosmetics contain both nano-sized ZnO and TiO2, but cytotoxicity studies of such systems are meager. In this paper, the cytotoxicity of this dual-nanoparticle system comprising both ZnO and TiO2 was evaluated in vitro on skin-mimicking human primary epidermal keratinocytes (HPEKs). Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy were used to investigate the uptake of nanoparticles and free ions. Results revealed that ZnO nanoparticles were partially soluble (up to 20 μg ml-1 after 1 day) and could induce strong cytotoxicity as compared to the insoluble TiO2 nanoparticles which remained non-toxic until very high concentrations. It was found that TiO2 nanoparticles could play "vigilante" by protecting keratinocytes from acute toxicity of ZnO nanoparticles. This is in agreement with the observation that TiO2 nanoparticles caused an attenuation of free intracellular Zn2+ ions concentration, by adsorbing and immobilizing free Zn2+ ions. This study reveals a unique dual-nanoparticle observation in vitro on HPEKs, and highlights the importance of dual-nanoparticulate toxicity studies, especially in applications where more than one nanoparticle material-type is present.

Facile fabrication of Si-doped TiO2 nanotubes photoanode for enhanced photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Zhenbiao; Ding, Dongyan; Li, Ting; Ning, Congqin

2018-04-01

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting based doping modified one dimensional (1D) titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures provide an efficient method for hydrogen generation. Here we first successfully fabricated 1D Si-doped TiO2 (Ti-Si-O) nanotube arrays through anodizing Ti-Si alloys with different Si amount, and reported the PEC properties for water splitting. The Ti-Si-O nanotube arrays fabricated on Ti-5 wt.% Si alloy and annealed at 600 °C possess higher PEC activity, yielding a higher photocurrent density of 0.83 mA/cm2 at 0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The maximum photoconversion efficiency was 0.54%, which was 2.7 times the photoconversion efficiency of undoped TiO2.

Compositional, structural, and optical changes of polyimide implanted by 1.0 MeV Ni+ ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikšová, R.; Macková, A.; Pupikova, H.; Malinský, P.; Slepička, P.; Švorčík, V.

2017-09-01

The ion irradiation leads to deep structural and compositional changes in the irradiated polymers. Ni+ ions implanted polymers were investigated from the structural and compositional changes point of view and their optical properties were investigated. Polyimide (PI) foils were implanted with 1.0 MeV Ni+ ions at room temperature with fluencies of 1.0 × 1013-1.0 × 1015 cm-2 and two different ion implantation currents densities (3.5 and 7.2 nA/cm2). Rutherford Back-Scattering (RBS) and Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) were used for determination of oxygen and hydrogen escape in implanted PI. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was used to follow surface roughness modification after the ion implantation and UV-Vis spectroscopy was employed to check the optical properties of the implanted PI. The implanted PI structural changes were analysed using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). High energy Ni-ion implantation causes only a minor release of hydrogen and oxygen close to the polymer sub-surface region in about 60 nm thick layer penetrated by the ion beam; especially at ion fluencies below 1.0 × 1014 cm-2. The mostly pronounced structural changes of the Ni implanted PI were found for the samples implanted above ion fluence 1.0 × 1015 cm-2 and at the ion current density 7.2 nA/cm2, where the optical band gap significantly decreases and the reduction of more complex structural unit of PI monomer was observed.

Facile synthesis of 3D few-layered MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanostructures for stable and high-performance lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Biao; Zhao, Naiqin; Guo, Lichao; He, Fang; Shi, Chunsheng; He, Chunnian; Li, Jiajun; Liu, Enzuo

2015-07-01

Uniform transition metal sulfide deposition on a smooth TiO2 surface to form a coating structure is a well-known challenge, caused mainly due to their poor affinities. Herein, we report a facile strategy for fabricating mesoporous 3D few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanocomposites (denoted as 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2) by a novel two-step method using a smooth TiO2 nanosheet as a template and glucose as a binder. The core-shell structure has been systematically examined and corroborated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses. It is found that the resultant 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2 as a lithium-ion battery anode delivers an outstanding high-rate capability with an excellent cycling performance, relating to the unique structure of 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2. The 3D uniform coverage of few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 onto the TiO2 can remarkably enhance the structure stability and effectively shortens the transfer paths of both lithium ions and electrons, while the strong synergistic effect between MoS2 and TiO2 can significantly facilitate the transport of ions and electrons across the interfaces, especially in the high-rate charge-discharge process. Moreover, the facile fabrication strategy can be easily extended to design other oxide/carbon-sulfide/oxide core-shell materials for extensive applications.Uniform transition metal sulfide deposition on a smooth TiO2 surface to form a coating structure is a well-known challenge, caused mainly due to their poor affinities. Herein, we report a facile strategy for fabricating mesoporous 3D few-layered (<4 layers) MoS2 coated TiO2 nanosheet core-shell nanocomposites (denoted as 3D FL-MoS2@TiO2) by a novel two-step method using a smooth TiO2 nanosheet as a template and glucose as a binder. The core-shell structure has been systematically examined and corroborated by transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy

FABRICATION AND PHOTOCATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF TiO2 NANOFILMS CO-DOPED WITH Fe3+ AND Bi3+ IONS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Qiongzhi; Liu, Xin; Liu, Wei; Liu, Fang; Fang, Yueping; Zhang, Shiying; Zhou, Wuyi

2016-12-01

In this work, the titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanofilms co-doped with Fe3+ and Bi3+ ions were successfully fabricated by the sol-gel method with dip-coating process. Methylene blue was used as the target degradation chemical to study the photocatalytic properties affected by different doping contents of Fe3+ and Bi3+ ions. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that both pure TiO2 nanofilms and single-doped samples possessed the photocatalytic activity in degradation of methylene blue. However, when the nanofilms co-doped with Fe3+ and Bi3+ ions were fabricated at the molar ratio of 3:1 (Fe3+:Bi3+), they exhibited the best photocatalytic activity after the heat treatment at 500∘C for 2h. The wettability property test indicated that the TiO2 nanofilms co-doped with Fe3+ and Bi3+ ions in the molar ratio 3:1 owned an excellent hydrophilic property.

Fabrication of Ce/N co-doped TiO2/diatomite granule catalyst and its improved visible-light-driven photoactivity.

PubMed

Chen, Yan; Liu, Kuiren

2017-02-15

Eliminating antibiotic remnants in aquatic environment has become one of the hottest topics among current research works. Thus, we prepared Ce, N co-doped TiO 2 /diatomite granule (CNTD-G) catalyst to provide a new method. As one typical antibiotics, oxytetracycline (OTC) was selected as the target pollutant to be degradated under visible light irradiation. The carrier diatomite helped the spread of TiO 2 nanoparticles onto its surface, and inhibited their agglomeration. The synergy of Ce and N dopants highly improved the visible-light-driven photoactivity of TiO 2 . The optimal doping amount and degradation conditions were determined. Besides, the effects of impurity ions were also investigated, including cations: Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ; or anions: NO 3 - , SO 4 2- and PO 4 3- . The intermediates generated during degradation process were studied, and the mechanism of the photodegradation process was proposed. CNTD-G could be easily collected from the reactor, and showed excellent recyclability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formation of definite GaN p-n junction by Mg-ion implantation to n--GaN epitaxial layers grown on a high-quality free-standing GaN substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oikawa, Takuya; Saijo, Yusuke; Kato, Shigeki; Mishima, Tomoyoshi; Nakamura, Tohru

2015-12-01

P-type conversion of n--GaN by Mg-ion implantation was successfully performed using high quality GaN epitaxial layers grown on free-standing low-dislocation-density GaN substrates. These samples showed low-temperature PL spectra quite similar to those observed from Mg-doped MOVPE-grown p-type GaN, consisting of Mg related donor-acceptor pair (DAP) and acceptor bound exciton (ABE) emission. P-n diodes fabricated by the Mg-ion implantation showed clear rectifying I-V characteristics and UV and blue light emissions were observed at forward biased conditions for the first time.

Ion implantation damage, annealing and dopant activation in epitaxial gallium nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suvkhanov, Agajan

2001-07-01

crystal, and made it possible to achieve optical activation of the implanted Mg + and Si+ ions. PL measurements at 16 K of GaN samples implanted with Mg+ and annealed in a capsule showed three relatively strong peaks at 211, 303, and 395 meV from the band-edge emission. The relative intensity of the "yellow" band emission (i.e. defect band) was several times lower in the case of annealing in a sealed capsule as compared to that of open anneals in flowing argon or nitrogen. A separate set of specially-grown GaN samples was used for low temperature (1.8 K) PL analysis of the activation properties of Mg+-implanted and Mg+/P+-implanted samples. The samples were annealed in Rapid thermal processor (RTP) at 1300°C for 10 s with AlON encapsulation in flowing N2. The Mg+ implants showed good optical activation, producing a dose-correlated acceptor bound exciton peak with 12.2 meV localization energy, and donor-to-acceptor and band-to-acceptor peaks at 3.270 and 3.284 eV, respectively. The spectroscopic Mg acceptor binding energy was found to be 224 meV. A broad peak at 2.35 eV is attributed to implantation-induced defects stable in p-type material.

Molecular and Dissociative Adsorption of Water on (TiO 2 ) n Clusters, n = 1–4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Mingyang; Straatsma, Tjerk P.; Dixon, David A.

In the low energy structures of the (TiO 2) n(H 2O) m (n ≤ 4, m ≤ 2n) and (TiO 2) 8(H 2O) m (m = 3, 7, 8) clusters were predicted using a global geometry optimization approach, with a number of new lowest energy isomers being found. Water can molecularly or dissociatively adsorb on pure and hydrated TiO 2 clusters. Dissociative adsorption is the dominant reaction for the first two H 2O adsorption reactions for n = 1, 2, and 4, for the first three H 2O adsorption reactions for n = 3, and for the first four Hmore » 2O adsorption reactions for n = 8. As more H 2O’s are added to the hydrated (TiO 2)n cluster, dissociative adsorption becomes less exothermic as all the Ti centers become 4-coordinate. Furthermore two types of bonds can be formed between the molecularly adsorbed water and TiO 2 clusters: a Lewis acid–base Ti–O(H 2) bond or an O···H hydrogen bond. The coupled cluster CCSD(T) results show that at 0 K the H 2O adsorption energy at a 4-coordinate Ti center is ~15 kcal/mol for the Lewis acid–base molecular adsorption and ~7 kcal/mol for the H-bond molecular adsorption, in comparison to that of 8–10 kcal/mol for the dissociative adsorption. The cluster size and geometry independent dehydration reaction energy, ED, for the general reaction 2(-TiOH) → -TiOTi– + H 2O at 4-coordinate Ti centers was estimated from the aggregation reaction of nTi(OH) 4 to form the monocyclic ring cluster (TiO 3H 2) n + nH 2O. E D is estimated to be -8 kcal/mol, showing that intramolecular and intermolecular dehydration reactions are intrinsically thermodynamically allowed for the hydrated (TiO 2) n clusters with all of the Ti centers 4-coordinate, which can be hindered by cluster geometry changes caused by such processes. Finally by bending force constants for the TiOTi and OTiO bonds are determined to be 7.4 and 56.0 kcal/(mol·rad 2). Infrared vibrational spectra were calculated using density functional theory, and the new bands appearing upon water adsorption

Molecular and Dissociative Adsorption of Water on (TiO 2 ) n Clusters, n = 1–4

DOE PAGES

Chen, Mingyang; Straatsma, Tjerk P.; Dixon, David A.

2015-10-20

In the low energy structures of the (TiO 2) n(H 2O) m (n ≤ 4, m ≤ 2n) and (TiO 2) 8(H 2O) m (m = 3, 7, 8) clusters were predicted using a global geometry optimization approach, with a number of new lowest energy isomers being found. Water can molecularly or dissociatively adsorb on pure and hydrated TiO 2 clusters. Dissociative adsorption is the dominant reaction for the first two H 2O adsorption reactions for n = 1, 2, and 4, for the first three H 2O adsorption reactions for n = 3, and for the first four Hmore » 2O adsorption reactions for n = 8. As more H 2O’s are added to the hydrated (TiO 2)n cluster, dissociative adsorption becomes less exothermic as all the Ti centers become 4-coordinate. Furthermore two types of bonds can be formed between the molecularly adsorbed water and TiO 2 clusters: a Lewis acid–base Ti–O(H 2) bond or an O···H hydrogen bond. The coupled cluster CCSD(T) results show that at 0 K the H 2O adsorption energy at a 4-coordinate Ti center is ~15 kcal/mol for the Lewis acid–base molecular adsorption and ~7 kcal/mol for the H-bond molecular adsorption, in comparison to that of 8–10 kcal/mol for the dissociative adsorption. The cluster size and geometry independent dehydration reaction energy, ED, for the general reaction 2(-TiOH) → -TiOTi– + H 2O at 4-coordinate Ti centers was estimated from the aggregation reaction of nTi(OH) 4 to form the monocyclic ring cluster (TiO 3H 2) n + nH 2O. E D is estimated to be -8 kcal/mol, showing that intramolecular and intermolecular dehydration reactions are intrinsically thermodynamically allowed for the hydrated (TiO 2) n clusters with all of the Ti centers 4-coordinate, which can be hindered by cluster geometry changes caused by such processes. Finally by bending force constants for the TiOTi and OTiO bonds are determined to be 7.4 and 56.0 kcal/(mol·rad 2). Infrared vibrational spectra were calculated using density functional theory, and the new bands appearing upon water adsorption

Facile Aluminum Reduction Synthesis of Blue TiO2 with Oxygen Deficiency for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Zheng, Jing; Ji, Guangbin; Zhang, Peng; Cao, Xingzhong; Wang, Baoyi; Yu, Linghui; Xu, Zhichuan J

2015-12-07

An ultrafacile aluminum reduction method is reported herein for the preparation of blue TiO2 nanoparticles (donated as Al-TiO2 , anatase phase) with abundant oxygen deficiency for lithium-ion batteries. Under aluminum reduction, the morphology of the TiO2 nanosheets changes from well-defined rectangular into uniform round or oval nanoparticles and the particle size also decreases from 60 to 31 nm, which can aggressively accelerate the lithium-ion diffusion. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) results reveal that plentiful oxygen deficiencies relative to the Ti(3+) species were generated in blue Al-TiO2 ; this effectively enhances the electron conductivity of the TiO2 . X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) analysis indicates that a small peak is observed for the Al-O bond, which probably plays a very important role in the stabilization of the oxygen deficiencies/Ti(3+) species. As a result, the blue Al-TiO2 possesses significantly higher capacity, better rate performance, and a longer cycle life than the white pure TiO2 . Such improvements can be attributed to the decreased particle size, as well as the existence of the oxygen deficiencies/Ti(3+) species. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ultra-fine structures of Pd-Ag-HAp nanoparticle deposition on protruded TiO2 barrier layer for dental implant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Jae-Myung; Kim, Seung-Dai; Park, Tae-Eon; Choe, Han-Cheol

2018-02-01

The biocompatibility structure of an implant surface is of great importance to the formation of new bone tissue around the dental implant and also has a significant chemical reaction in the osseointegration process. Thus, ultra-fine Pd-Ag-HAp nanoparticles have been electrodeposited on protruded TiO2 barrier layer in mixed electrolyte solutions. Unusual protrusions patterns, which are assigned to Pd-Ag-HAp nanoparticles, can be clearly differentiated from a TiO2 nanotube oxide layer formed by an anodizing process. In the chemical bonding state, the surface characteristics of Pd/Ag/HAp compounds have been investigated by FE-SEM, EDS mapping analysis, and XPS analysis. The mapping dots of the elements including Ti, Ca, Pd, Ag, and P showed a homogeneous distribution throughout the entire surface when deposited onto the protruded TiO2 barrier layer. The XPS spectra of Ti-2p, O-1S, Pd-3d, and Ag-3d have been investigated, with the major XPS peak indicating Pd-3d. The Ag-3d level was clearly observed with further scanning of the Ca-2p region. Based on the results of the chemical states, the structural properties of the protrusion patterns were also examined after being deposited onto the barrier oxide film, resulting in the representative protrusion patterns being mainly composed of Pd-Ag-HAp compounds. The results of the soaking evaluation showed that the protrusion patterns and the protruded TiO2 barrier layer were all effective in regards to biocompatibility.

Transition metal ions effect on the properties and photocatalytic activity of nanocrystalline TiO2 prepared in an ionic liquid.

PubMed

Ghasemi, S; Rahimnejad, S; Setayesh, S Rahman; Rohani, S; Gholami, M R

2009-12-30

TiO(2) and transition metal (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) doped TiO(2) nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel method using 2-hydroxylethylammonium formate as an ionic liquid. All the prepared samples were calcined at 500 degrees C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area determination, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The studies revealed that transition metal (TM) doped nanoparticles have smaller crystalline size and higher surface area than pure TiO(2). Dopant ions in the TiO(2) structure caused significant absorption shift into the visible region. The results of photodegradation of Acid Blue92 (AB92) in aqueous medium under UV light showed that photocatalytic activity of TiO(2) nanoparticles was significantly enhanced by the presence of some transition metal ions. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of dye solutions were done at regular intervals gave a good idea about mineralization of dye.

Implantation of sodium ions into germanium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Korol', V. M., E-mail: vkorol@ctsnet.ru; Kudriavtsev, Yu.

The donor properties of Na atoms introduced by ion implantation into p-Ge with the resistivity 20-40 {Omega} cm are established for the first time. Na profiles implanted into Ge (the energies 70 and 77 keV and the doses (0.8, 3, 30) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} cm{sup -2}) are studied. The doses and annealing temperatures at which the thermoprobe detects n-type conductivity on the sample surface are established. After implantation, the profiles exhibit an extended tail. The depth of the concentration maximum is in good agreement with the calculated mean projected range of Na ions R{sub p}. Annealing for 30 min atmore » temperatures of 250-700 Degree-Sign C brings about a redistribution of Na atoms with the formation of segregation peaks at a depth, which is dependent on the ion dose, and is accompanied by the diffusion of Na atoms to the surface with subsequent evaporation. After annealing at 700 Degree-Sign C less than 7% of the implanted ions remain in the matrix. The shape of the profile tail portions measured after annealing at temperatures 300-400 Degree-Sign C is indicative of the diffusion of a small fraction of Na atoms into the depth of the sample.« less

Tailoring optical properties of TiO2-Cr co-sputtered films using swift heavy ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Ratnesh; Sen, Sagar; Phase, D. M.; Avasthi, D. K.; Gupta, Ajay

2018-05-01

Effect of 100 MeV Au7+ ion irradiation on structure and optical properties of Cr-doped TiO2 films has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray reflectivity, and atomic force microscopy. X-ray reflectivity measurement implied that film thickness reduces as a function of ion fluence while surface roughness increases. The variation in surface roughness is well correlated with AFM results. Ion irradiation decreases the band gap energy of the film. Swift heavy ion irradiation enhances the oxygen vacancies in the film, and the extra electrons in the vacancies act as donor-like states. In valence band spectrum, there is a shift in the Ti3d peak towards lower energies and the shift is equivalent to the band gap energy obtained from UV spectrum. Evidence for band bending is also provided by the corresponding Ti XPS peak which exhibits a shift towards lower energy due to the downward band bending. X-ray absorption studies on O Kand Cr L3,2 edges clearly indicate that swift heavy ion irradiation induces formation of Cr-clusters in TiO2 matrix.

Tailoring the structural and optical properties of TiN thin films by Ag ion implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popović, M.; Novaković, M.; Rakočević, Z.; Bibić, N.

2016-12-01

Titanium nitride (TiN) thin films thickness of ∼260 nm prepared by dc reactive sputtering were irradiated with 200 keV silver (Ag) ions to the fluences ranging from 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 to 20 × 1015 ions/cm2. After implantation TiN layers were annealed 2 h at 700 °C in a vacuum. Ion irradiation-induced microstructural changes were examined by using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, while the surface topography was observed using atomic force microscopy. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was employed to get insights on the optical and electronic properties of TiN films with respect to their microstructure. The results showed that the irradiations lead to deformation of the lattice, increasing disorder and formation of new Ag phase. The optical results demonstrate the contribution of surface plasmon resonace (SPR) of Ag particles. SPR position shifted in the range of 354.3-476.9 nm when Ag ion fluence varied from 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 to 20 × 1015 ions/cm2. Shift in peak wavelength shows dependence on Ag particles concentration, suggesting that interaction between Ag particles dominate the surface plasmon resonance effect. Presence of Ag as second metal in the layer leads to overall decrease of optical resistivity of TiN.

Effect of Cyclic Precalcification of Nanotubular TiO2 Layer on the Bioactivity of Titanium Implant

PubMed Central

Park, Il Song; Yang, Eun Jin; Bae, Tae Sung

2013-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of cyclic precalcification treatment to impart bioactive properties for titanium implants. Before precalcification, the titanium implants were subjected to blasting using hydroxyapatite (HAp), a resorbable blasting medium (RBM treated), and anodized using an electrolyte containing glycerol, H2O, and NH4F. Precalcification treatment was performed by two different methods, namely, continuous immersion treatment (CIT) and alternate immersion treatment (AIT). In CIT, the RBM treated and anodized titanium implants were immersed in 0.05 M NaH2PO4 solution at 80°C and saturated Ca(OH)2 solution at 100°C for 20 min, whereas during AIT, they were immersed alternatively in both solutions for 1 min for 20 cycles. Anodizing of the titanium implants enables the formation of self-organized TiO2 nanotubes. Cyclic precalcification treatment imparts a better bioactive property and enables an increase in activation level of the titanium implants. The removal torque values of the RBM treated, CIT treated, and AIT treated titanium implants are 10.8 ± 3.7 Ncm, 17.5 ± 3.5 Ncm, and 28.1 ± 2.4 Ncm, respectively. The findings of the study indicate the cyclic precalcification in an effective surface treatment method that would help accelerate osseointegration and impart bioactive property of titanium implants. PMID:24069596

Performance optimization of dye-sensitized solar cells by multilayer gradient scattering architecture of TiO2 microspheres.

PubMed

Li, Mingyue; Li, Meiya; Liu, Xiaolian; Bai, Lihua; Luoshan, Mengdai; Lei, Wen; Wang, Zhen; Zhu, Yongdan; Zhao, Xingzhong

2017-01-20

TiO 2 microspheres (TMSs) with unique hierarchical structure and unusual high specific surface area are synthesized and incorporated into a photoanode in various TMS multilayer gradient architectures to form novel photoanodes and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Significant influences of these architectures on the photoelectric properties of DSSCs are obtained. The DSSC with the optimal TMS gradient-ascent architecture of M036 has the largest amounts of dye absorption, strongest light absorption, longest electron lifetime and lowest electron recombination, and thus exhibits the maximum short circuit current density (J sc ) of 16.49 mA cm -2 and photoelectric conversion efficiency (η) of 7.01%, notably higher than those of conventional DSSCs by 21% and 22%, respectively. These notable improvements in the properties of DSSCs can be attributed to the TMS gradient-ascent architecture of M036 which can most effectively increase dye absorption and localize incident light within the photoanode by the light scattering of TMSs, and thus utilize the incident light thoroughly. This study provides an optimized and universal configuration for the scattering microspheres incorporated in the hybrid photoanode, which can significantly improve the performance of DSSCs.

Oxygen-related vacancy-type defects in ion-implanted silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pi, X. D.; Burrows, C. P.; Coleman, P. G.; Gwilliam, R. M.; Sealy, B. J.

2003-10-01

Czochralski silicon samples implanted to a dose of 5 × 1015 cm-2 with 0.5 MeV O and to a dose of 1016 cm-2 with 1 MeV Si, respectively, have been studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy. The evolution of divacancies to vacancy (V)-O complexes is out-competed by V-interstitial (I) recombination at 400 and 500 °C in the Si- and O-implanted samples; the higher oxygen concentration makes the latter temperature higher. The defective region shrinks as the annealing temperature increases as interstitials are injected from the end of the implantation range (Rp). VmOn (m> n) are formed in the shallow region most effectively at 700 °C for both Si and O implantation. VxOy (x< y) are produced near Rp by the annealing. At 800 °C, implanted Si ions diffuse and reduce m and implanted O ions diffuse and increase n in VmOn. All oxygen-related vacancy-type defects appear to begin to dissociate at 950 °C, with the probable formation of oxygen clusters. At 1100 °C, oxygen precipitates appear to form just before Rp in O-implanted silicon.

N-Doped TiO2-Coated Ceramic Membrane for Carbamazepine Degradation in Different Water Qualities

PubMed Central

Luster, Enbal; Avisar, Dror; Horovitz, Inna; Lozzi, Luca; Baker, Mark A.; Grilli, Rossana; Mamane, Hadas

2017-01-01

The photocatalytic degradation of the model pollutant carbamazepine (CBZ) was investigated under simulated solar irradiation with an N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 photocatalytic membrane, using different water types. The photocatalytic membrane combines photocatalysis and membrane filtration in a single step. The impact of each individual constituent such as acidity, alkalinity, dissolved organic matter (DOM), divalent cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+), and Cl− on the degradation of CBZ was examined. CBZ in water was efficiently degraded by an N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 membrane. However, elements added to the water, which simulate the constituents of natural water, had an impact on the CBZ degradation. Water alkalinity inhibited CBZ degradation mostly due to increase in pH while radical scavenging by carbonate was more dominant at higher values (>200 mg/L as CaCO3). A negative effect of Ca2+ addition on photocatalytic degradation was found only in combination with phosphate buffer, probably caused by deposition of CaHPO4 or CaHPO4·2H2O on the catalyst surface. The presence of Cl− and Mg2+ ions had no effect on CBZ degradation. DOM significantly inhibited CBZ degradation for all tested background organic compounds. The photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2-coated Al2O3 membranes gradually decreased after continuous use; however, it was successfully regenerated by 0.1% HCl chemical cleaning. Nevertheless, dissolution of metals like Al and Ti should be monitored following acid cleaning. PMID:28758982

Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TiO2/AgInS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawar, Sachin A.; Jeong, Jae Pil; Patil, Dipali S.; More, Vivek M.; Lee, Rochelle S.; Shin, Jae Cheol; Choi, Won Jun

2018-05-01

Quantum dot heterojunctions with type-II band alignment can efficiently separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and, hence, are useful for solar cell studies. In this study, a quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) made of TiO2/AgInS2 is achieved to boost the photoconversion efficiency for the TiO2-based system by varying the AgInS2 layer's thickness. The TiO2 nanorods array film is prepared by using a simple hydrothermal technique. The formation of a AgInS2 QD-sensitized TiO2-nanorod photoelectrode is carried out by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The effect of the QD layer on the performance of the solar cell is studied by varying the SILAR cycles of the QD coating. The synthesized electrode materials are characterized by using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and solar cell performances. The results indicate that the nanocrystals have effectively covered the outer surfaces of the TiO2 nanorods. The interfacial structure of quantum dots (QDs)/TiO2 is also investigated, and the growth interface is verified. A careful comparison between TiO2/AgInS2 sensitized cells reveals that the trasfer of electrons and hole proceeds efficiently, the recombination is suppressed for the optimum thickness of the QD layer and light from the entire visible spectrum is utilised. Under AM 1.5G illumination, a high photocurrent of 1.36 mAcm-2 with an improved power conversion efficiency of 0.48% is obtained. The solar cell properties of our photoanodes suggest that the TiO2 nanorod array films co-sensitized by AgInS2 nanoclusters have potential applications in solar cells.

Correlation of process parameters and properties of TiO2 films grown by ion beam sputter deposition from a ceramic target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bundesmann, Carsten; Lautenschläge, Thomas; Spemann, Daniel; Finzel, Annemarie; Mensing, Michael; Frost, Frank

2017-10-01

The correlation between process parameters and properties of TiO2 films grown by ion beam sputter deposition from a ceramic target was investigated. TiO2 films were grown under systematic variation of ion beam parameters (ion species, ion energy) and geometrical parameters (ion incidence angle, polar emission angle) and characterized with respect to film thickness, growth rate, structural properties, surface topography, composition, optical properties, and mass density. Systematic variations of film properties with the scattering geometry, namely the scattering angle, have been revealed. There are also considerable differences in film properties when changing the process gas from Ar to Xe. Similar systematics were reported for TiO2 films grown by reactive ion beam sputter deposition from a metal target [C. Bundesmann et al., Appl. Surf. Sci. 421, 331 (2017)]. However, there are some deviations from the previously reported data, for instance, in growth rate, mass density and optical properties.

Method for ion implantation induced embedded particle formation via reduction

DOEpatents

Hampikian, Janet M; Hunt, Eden M

2001-01-01

A method for ion implantation induced embedded particle formation via reduction with the steps of ion implantation with an ion/element that will chemically reduce the chosen substrate material, implantation of the ion/element to a sufficient concentration and at a sufficient energy for particle formation, and control of the temperature of the substrate during implantation. A preferred embodiment includes the formation of particles which are nano-dimensional (<100 m-n in size). The phase of the particles may be affected by control of the substrate temperature during and/or after the ion implantation process.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films synthesized by swift heavy ion irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thakurdesai, Madhavi; Kanjilal, D.; Bhattacharyya, Varsha

2012-08-01

Irradiation by swift heavy ions (SHI) is unique tool to synthesize nanocrystalline thin films. We have reported transformation of 100 nm thick amorphous films into nanocrystalline film due to irradiation by 100 MeV Ag ion beam. Oblate shaped nanoparticles having anatase phase of TiO2 were formed on the surface of the irradiated films. In the present investigation, these films are annealed at 350 °C for 2 min in oxygen atmosphere by Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) method. During RTA processing, the temperature rises abruptly and this thermal instability is expected to alter surface morphology, structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films. Thus in the present work, effect of RTA on SHI induced nanocrystalline thin films of TiO2 is studied. The effect of RTA processing on the shape and size of TiO2 nanoparticles is studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Glancing Angle X-ray Diffraction (GAXRD) studies are carried to investigate structural changes induced by RTA processing. Optical characterization is carried out by UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The changes observed in structural and optical properties of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films after RTA processing are attributed to the annihilation of SHI induced defects.

A Synergistic Effect of Surfactant and ZrO2 Underlayer on Photocurrent Enhancement and Cathodic Shift of Nanoporous Fe2O3 Photoanode

PubMed Central

Shinde, Pravin S.; Lee, Su Yong; Choi, Sun Hee; Lee, Hyun Hwi; Ryu, Jungho; Jang, Jum Suk

2016-01-01

Augmenting the donor density and nanostructure engineering are the crucial points to improve solar water oxidation performance of hematite (α-Fe2O3). This work addresses the sluggish water oxidation reaction associated with hematite photoanode by tweaking its internal porosity. The porous hematite photoanodes are fabricated by a novel synthetic strategy via pulse reverse electrodeposition (PRED) method that involves incorporation of a cationic CTAB surfactant in a sulfate electrolyte and spin-coated ZrO2 underlayer (UL) on FTO. CTAB is found to be beneficial in promoting the film growth rate during PRED. Incorporation of Zr4+ ions from ZrO2 UL and Sn4+ ions from FTO into the Fe2O3 lattice via solid-state diffusion reaction during pertinent annihilation of surfactant molecules at 800 °C produced internally porous hematite films with improved carrier concentration. The porous hematite demonstrated a sustained photocurrent enhancement and a significant cathodic shift of 130 mV relative to the planar hematite under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G) in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. The absorption, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky analyses revealed that the ZrO2 UL and CTAB not only increased the carrier density and light harvesting but also accelerated the surface oxidation reaction kinetics, synergistically boosting the performance of internally porous hematite photoanodes. PMID:27577967

A Synergistic Effect of Surfactant and ZrO2 Underlayer on Photocurrent Enhancement and Cathodic Shift of Nanoporous Fe2O3 Photoanode.

PubMed

Shinde, Pravin S; Lee, Su Yong; Choi, Sun Hee; Lee, Hyun Hwi; Ryu, Jungho; Jang, Jum Suk

2016-08-31

Augmenting the donor density and nanostructure engineering are the crucial points to improve solar water oxidation performance of hematite (α-Fe2O3). This work addresses the sluggish water oxidation reaction associated with hematite photoanode by tweaking its internal porosity. The porous hematite photoanodes are fabricated by a novel synthetic strategy via pulse reverse electrodeposition (PRED) method that involves incorporation of a cationic CTAB surfactant in a sulfate electrolyte and spin-coated ZrO2 underlayer (UL) on FTO. CTAB is found to be beneficial in promoting the film growth rate during PRED. Incorporation of Zr(4+) ions from ZrO2 UL and Sn(4+) ions from FTO into the Fe2O3 lattice via solid-state diffusion reaction during pertinent annihilation of surfactant molecules at 800 °C produced internally porous hematite films with improved carrier concentration. The porous hematite demonstrated a sustained photocurrent enhancement and a significant cathodic shift of 130 mV relative to the planar hematite under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G) in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. The absorption, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky analyses revealed that the ZrO2 UL and CTAB not only increased the carrier density and light harvesting but also accelerated the surface oxidation reaction kinetics, synergistically boosting the performance of internally porous hematite photoanodes.

A Synergistic Effect of Surfactant and ZrO2 Underlayer on Photocurrent Enhancement and Cathodic Shift of Nanoporous Fe2O3 Photoanode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinde, Pravin S.; Lee, Su Yong; Choi, Sun Hee; Lee, Hyun Hwi; Ryu, Jungho; Jang, Jum Suk

2016-08-01

Augmenting the donor density and nanostructure engineering are the crucial points to improve solar water oxidation performance of hematite (α-Fe2O3). This work addresses the sluggish water oxidation reaction associated with hematite photoanode by tweaking its internal porosity. The porous hematite photoanodes are fabricated by a novel synthetic strategy via pulse reverse electrodeposition (PRED) method that involves incorporation of a cationic CTAB surfactant in a sulfate electrolyte and spin-coated ZrO2 underlayer (UL) on FTO. CTAB is found to be beneficial in promoting the film growth rate during PRED. Incorporation of Zr4+ ions from ZrO2 UL and Sn4+ ions from FTO into the Fe2O3 lattice via solid-state diffusion reaction during pertinent annihilation of surfactant molecules at 800 °C produced internally porous hematite films with improved carrier concentration. The porous hematite demonstrated a sustained photocurrent enhancement and a significant cathodic shift of 130 mV relative to the planar hematite under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G) in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. The absorption, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky analyses revealed that the ZrO2 UL and CTAB not only increased the carrier density and light harvesting but also accelerated the surface oxidation reaction kinetics, synergistically boosting the performance of internally porous hematite photoanodes.

Defect-rich TiO2-δ nanocrystals confined in a mooncake-shaped porous carbon matrix as an advanced Na ion battery anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Hanna; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Haiyan; Zhang, Hehe; Li, Jiadong; Peng, Zhiguang; Tang, Yougen; Shao, Minhua

2017-06-01

Inferior electronic conductivity and sluggish sodium ion diffusion are still two big challenges for TiO2 anode material for Na ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, we synthesize TiO2/C composites by the pyrolysis of MIL-125(Ti) precursor and successfully introduce defects to TiO2/C composite by a simple magnesium reduction. The as-prepared defect-rich TiO2-δ/C composite shows mooncake-shaped morphology consisting of TiO2-δ nanocrystals with an average particle size of 5 nm well dispersed in the carbon matrix. When used as a SIBs anode, the defect-rich TiO2-δ/C composite exhibits a high reversible capacity of 330.2 mAh g-1 at 50 mA g-1 at the voltage range of 0.001-3.0 V and long-term cycling stability with negligible decay after 5000 cycles. Compared with other four TiO2/C samples, the electrochemical performance of defect-rich TiO2-δ/C is highly improved, which may benefit from the enhanced electronic/ionic conductivities owing to the defect-rich features, high surface area rendering shortened electronic and ionic diffusion path, and the suppress of the TiO2 crystal aggregation during sodiation and desodiation process by the carbon matrix.

The structure of crystallographic damage in GaN formed during rare earth ion implantation with and without an ultrathin AlN capping layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gloux, F.; Ruterana, P.; Wojtowicz, T.; Lorenz, K.; Alves, E.

2006-10-01

The crystallographic nature of the damage created in GaN implanted by rare earth ions at 300 keV and room temperature has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy versus the fluence, from 7×10 13 to 2×10 16 at/cm 2, using Er, Eu or Tm ions. The density of point defect clusters was seen to increase with the fluence. From about 3×10 15 at/cm 2, a highly disordered 'nanocrystalline layer' (NL) appears on the GaN surface. Its structure exhibits a mixture of voids and misoriented nanocrystallites. Basal stacking faults (BSFs) of I 1, E and I 2 types have been noticed from the lowest fluence, they are I 1 in the majority. Their density increases and saturates when the NL is observed. Many prismatic stacking faults (PSFs) with Drum atomic configuration have been identified. The I 1 BSFs are shown to propagate easily through GaN by folding from basal to prismatic planes thanks to the PSFs. When implanting through a 10 nm AlN cap, the NL threshold goes up to about 3×10 16 at/cm 2. The AlN cap plays a protective role against the dissociation of the GaN up to the highest fluences. The flat surface after implantation and the absence of SFs in the AlN cap indicate its high resistance to the damage formation.

Magnetic and optical effects in TiO2 based dye sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kannan U., M.; Jammalamadaka, S. Narayana

2018-04-01

We report on the magnetic effects on the solar cell efficiency of TiO2 based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The strong spin orbit coupling of rare earth Ho3+ ions introduced by the addition of Ho2O3 into the photoanode resulted in a 28% enhancement in the power conversion efficiency of DSSC. Such an enhancement in the efficiency may be attributed to the improved lifetime of photo generated excitons as a result of the accelerated intersystem crossing phenomenon. This observation is supported by our photoluminescence (PL) measurements where we could observe a decrease in the photo emission intensity with the addition of Ho2O3. In addition, we have used a low magnetic field of 100 Oe to further enhance the overall efficiency to 5.6%, which in turn proves that the Lorentz force plays a significant role in magnetic field controlled charge transport in DSSC. Finally, we have carried out a transfer matrix model based theoretical simulation for studying the optical properties of the multilayer device stack.

CdS/TiO2 photoanodes via solution ion transfer method for highly efficient solar hydrogen generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishna Karuturi, Siva; Yew, Rowena; Reddy Narangari, Parvathala; Wong-Leung, Jennifer; Li, Li; Vora, Kaushal; Tan, Hark Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati

2018-03-01

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a unique semiconducting material for solar hydrogen generation applications with a tunable, narrow bandgap that straddles water redox potentials. However, its potential towards efficient solar hydrogen generation has not yet been realized due to low photon-to-current conversions, high charge carrier recombination and the lack of controlled preparation methods. In this work, we demonstrate a highly efficient CdS/TiO2 heterostructured photoelectrode using atomic layer deposition and solution ion transfer reactions. Enabled by the well-controlled deposition of CdS nanocrystals on TiO2 inverse opal (TiIO) nanostructures using the proposed method, a saturation photocurrent density of 9.1 mA cm-2 is realized which is the highest ever reported for CdS-based photoelectrodes. We further demonstrate that the passivation of a CdS surface with an ultrathin amorphous layer (˜1.5 nm) of TiO2 improves the charge collection efficiency at low applied potentials paving the way for unassisted solar hydrogen generation.

Adsorption of toxic metal ion Cr(VI) from aqueous state by TiO2-MCM-41: equilibrium and kinetic studies.

PubMed

Parida, Kulamani; Mishra, Krushna Gopal; Dash, Suresh Kumar

2012-11-30

This paper deals with the immobilization of various weight percentage of TiO(2) on mesoporous MCM-41, characterization of the materials by X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and evaluation of the adsorption capacity toward Cr(VI) removal. It is found that the MCM-41 structure retained after loading of TiO(2) but the surface area and pore diameter decreased due to pore blockage. Adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous state was investigated on TiO(2)-MCM-41 by changing various parameters such as pH, metal ion concentration, and the temperature. When TiO(2) loading was more than 20 wt.%, the adsorption activity (25)TiO(2)-MCM-41 reduced significantly due to considerable decrease in the surface area. It is also observed that TiO(2) and neat MCM-41 exhibits very less Cr(VI) adsorption compared to TiO(2)-MCM-41. The adsorption of Cr(VI) onto (20)TiO(2)-MCM-41 at pH~5.5 and temperature 323 K was 91% at 100mg/L Cr(VI) metal ion concentration in 80 min. The experimental data fitted well to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption of Cr(VI) on TiO(2)-MCM-41 followed a second order kinetics with higher values of intra-particle diffusion rate. Thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process is endothermic in nature and desorption studies indicated a chemisorption mode. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improvement of Vitamin K2 Production by Escherichia sp. with Nitrogen Ion Beam Implantation Induction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan; Wang, Li; Zheng, Zhiming; Wang, Peng; Zhao, Genhai; Liu, Hui; Gong, Guohong; Wu, Hefang; Liu, Hongxia; Tan, Mu; Li, Zhemin

2015-02-01

Low-energy ion implantation as a novel mutagen has been increasingly applied in the microbial mutagenesis for its higher mutation frequency and wider mutation spectra. In this work, N+ ion beam implantation was used to enhance Escherichia sp. in vitamin K2 yield. Optimization of process parameters under submerged fermentation was carried out to improve the vitamin K2 yield of mutant FM5-632. The results indicate that an excellent mutant FM5-632 with a yield of 123.2±1.6 μg/L, that is four times that of the original strain, was achieved by eight successive implantations under the conditions of 15 keV and 60×2.6×1013 ions/cm2. A further optimization increased the yield of the mutant by 39.7%, i.e. 172.1±1.2 μg/L which occurred in the mutant cultivated in the optimal fermentation culture medium composed of (per liter): 15.31 g glycerol, 10 g peptone, 2.89 g yeast extract, 5 g K2HPO4, 1 g NaCl, 0.5 g MgSO4·7H2O and 0.04 g cedar wood oil, incubated at 33 °C, pH 7.0 and 180 rpm for 120 h.

Mechanical degradation of TiO2 nanotubes with and without nanoparticulate silver coating

PubMed Central

Shivaram, Anish; Bose, Susmita; Bandyopadhyay, Amit

2016-01-01

The primary objective of this research was to evaluate the extent of mechanical degradation on TiO2 nanotubes on Ti with and without nano-particulate silver coating using two different lengths of TiO2 nanotubes- 300nm and ~ 1µm, which were fabricated on commercially pure Titanium (cp-Ti) rods using anodization method using two different electrolytic mediums - (1) deionized (DI) water with 1% HF, and (2) ethylene glycol with 1% HF, 0.5 wt%. NH4F and 10% DI water. Nanotubes fabricated rods were implanted into equine cadaver bone to evaluate mechanical damage at the surface. Silver was electrochemically deposited on these nanotubes and using a release study, silver ion concentrations were measured before and after implantation, followed by surface characterization using a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). In vitro cell-material interaction study was performed using human fetal osteoblast cells (hFOB) to understand the effect of silver coating using an MTT assay for proliferation and to determine any cytotoxic effect on the cells and to study its biocompatibility. No significant damage due to implantation was observed for nanotubes up to ~1 µm length under current experimental conditions. Cell-materials interaction showed no cytotoxic effects on the cells due to silver coating and anodization of samples. PMID:27017285

Callindra haematocephata and Peltophorum pterocarpum flowers as natural sensitizers for TiO2 thin film based dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurya, Ishwar Chandra; Neetu; Gupta, Arun Kumar; Srivastava, Pankaj; Bahadur, Lal

2016-10-01

We have studied the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells employing natural dye extracted from the flowers Callindra haematocephata and Peltophorum pterocarpum as sensitizers for TiO2 photoanode. The extracts have shown appreciable absorption in the visible region. FTIR studies indicated the presence of anthocyanins and β-carotene in the flowers of C. haematocephata and P. pterocarpum respectively. The extracts were anchored on TiO2 film deposited on transparent conductive glass (FTO) which were used as photoanode. The dye coated TiO2 film electrode, Pt counter electrode and electrolyte (I-3) assembled into a cell module was illuminated by a light source with intensity 100 mW/cm2 to measure the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the DSSCs. From the J-V characteristic curves of cells, the parameters related to the solar cell performance were determined. The conversion efficiency of the DSSC employing natural dye extract from the flower C. haematocephata and P. pterocarpumwere was found as 0.06% and 0.04%, with open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 370 mV & 400 mV, short-circuit current density (JSC) of 0.25 mA/cm2 & 0.15 mA/cm2, fill factor (FF) of 0.70 & 0.71 and Pmax of 65 & 45 μW cm-2 respectively. The extract of the flower C. haematocephata exhibited better photosensitization action compared to the flower of P. pterocarpum.

N incorporation and electronic structure in N-doped TiO2(110) rutile

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheung, Sau H.; Nachimuthu, Ponnusamy; Joly, Alan G.

2007-02-08

Epitaxial TiO2-xNx film growth under anion-rich conditions is characterized by nearly balanced incorporation rates for substitutional N (NO) and interstitial Ti (Tii). Tii donors fully compensate and stabilize N3-, but preclude the formation of p-type material. Hybridization occurs between Tii(IV) and NO3-, but the value of x is limited to ~0.02 under these conditions. Tii(IV)-NO3- states occur above the valence band maximum of pure TiO2, riving rise to enhanced optical absorption in the visible up to ~2.5 eV. Much higher NO and Tii concentrations result from using cation-rich conditions.

Effect of ion implantation on the tribology of metal-on-metal hip prostheses.

PubMed

Bowsher, John G; Hussain, Azad; Williams, Paul; Nevelos, Jim; Shelton, Julia C

2004-12-01

Nitrogen ion implantation (which considerably hardens the surface of the bearing) may represent one possible method of reducing the wear of metal-on-metal (MOM) hip bearings. Currently there are no ion-implanted MOM bearings used clinically. Therefore a physiological hip simulator test was undertaken using standard test conditions, and the results compared to previous studies using the same methods. N2-ion implantation of high carbon cast Co-Cr-Mo-on-Co-Cr-Mo hip prostheses increased wear by 2-fold during the aggressive running-in phase compared to untreated bearing surfaces, plus showing no wear reductions during steady-state conditions. Although 2 specimens were considered in the current study, it would appear that ion implantation has no clinical benefit for MOM.

Ion-implanted epitaxially grown ZnSe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chernow, F.

1975-01-01

The use of ZnSe to obtain efficient, short wavelength injection luminescence was investigated. It was proposed that shorter wavelength emission and higher efficiency be achieved by employing a p-i-n diode structure rather than the normal p-n diode structure. The intervening i layer minimizes concentration quenching effects and the donor-acceptor pair states leading to long wavelength emission. The surface p layer was formed by ion implantation; implantation of the i layer rather than the n substrate permits higher, uncompensated p-type doping. An ion implanted p-n junction in ZnSe is efficiency-limited by high electron injection terminating in nonradiative recombination at the front surface, and by low hole injection resulting from the inability to obtain high conductivity p-type surface layers. While the injection ratio in p-n junctions was determined by the radio of majority carrier concentrations, the injection ratio in p-i-n structures was determined by the mobility ratios and/or space charge neutrality requirements in the i layer.

Preparation of erbium ion-doped TiO2 films and the study of their photocatalytic activity under simulated solar light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Hongfei; Huang, Yujiao; Li, Shaoni; Luan, Chunhui; Huang, Wei; Wang, Xiaodong; Feng, Xianshe

2017-11-01

A series of erbium ion-doped TiO2 (Er3+-TiO2) films were prepared by a sol-gel dip/spin coating method, and the effect of the dosage of erbium ion (0-2.0 mol%), the films coating layers (1-5 layers), and calcination temperature (400-700 °C) on the film structure and photocatalytic activity were investigated in detail. The films were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (TG-DTG) and UV-Vis diffusive reflectance spectra (DRS). The results showed that the films were composed of anatase, and no other TiO2 phases (rutile and brookite). With the increase of the erbium ion dosage, the crystal size decreased. Erbium ion doping could enhance the thermal stability of TiO2 and inhibit the increase of the crystallite size. Meanwhile doping of erbium ions gave rise to three typical absorption peaks within the range of visible light (400-700 nm), locating at 490, 523, and 654 nm, attributed to the transition of 4f electrons. The higher calcination temperature led to higher crystallinity and bigger crystal grains. The photocatalytic performance of the films was evaluated by degradation of methyl orange solution under simulated solar light. The highest quality film we prepared was with 4 layers, 1.0 mol% dosage of erbium ion, and the calcination temperature of 500 °C. With this film, the degradation percentage of 7.8 mg/L methyl orange solution was up to 53.3% under simulated solar light after 6 h photoreaction.

Sol-gel Synthesis, Photo- and Electrocatalytic Properties of Mesoporous TiO2 Modified with Transition Metal Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnova, N.; Petrik, I.; Vorobets, V.; Kolbasov, G.; Eremenko, A.

2017-03-01

Mesoporous nanosized titania films modified with Co2+, Ni2+, Mn3+, and Cu2+ ions have been produced by templated sol-gel method and characterized by optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area measurement. Band gap energy and the position of flat band potentials were estimated by photoelectrochemical measurements. The films doped with transition metals possessed higher photocurrent quantum yield, as well as photo- and electrochemical activity compared to undoped samples. Mn+/TiO2 (M-Co, Ni, Mn, Cu) electrodes with low dopant content demonstrate high efficiency in electrocatalytic reduction of dissolved oxygen. Polarization curves of TiO2, TiO2/Ni2+, TiO2/Co2+/3+, and TiO2/Mn3+ electrodes contain only one current wave (oxygen reduction current). It means that reaction proceeds without the formation of an intermediate product H2O2.

Down to 2 nm Ultra Shallow Junctions : Fabrication by IBS Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation Prototype PULSION registered

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Torregrosa, Frank; Etienne, Hasnaa; Mathieu, Gilles

Classical beam line implantation is limited in low energies and cannot achieve P+/N junctions requirements for <45nm node. Compared to conventional beam line ion implantation, limited to a minimum of about 200 eV, the efficiency of Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) is no more to prove for the realization of Ultra Shallow Junctions (USJ) in semiconductor applications: this technique allows to get ultimate shallow profiles (as implanted) thanks to no lower limitation of energy and offers high dose rate. In the field of the European consortium NANOCMOS, Ultra Shallow Junctions implanted on a semi-industrial PIII prototype (PULSION registered ) designedmore » by the French company IBS, have been studied. Ultra shallow junctions implanted with BF3 at acceleration voltages down to 20V were realized. Contamination level, homogeneity and depth profile are studied. The SIMS profiles obtained show the capability to make ultra shallow profiles (as implanted) down to 2nm.« less

Epitaxial Growth of Lattice-Mismatched Core-Shell TiO2 @MoS2 for Enhanced Lithium-Ion Storage.

PubMed

Dai, Rui; Zhang, Anqi; Pan, Zhichang; Al-Enizi, Abdullah M; Elzatahry, Ahmed A; Hu, Linfeng; Zheng, Gengfeng

2016-05-01

Core-shell structured nanohybrids are currently of significant interest due to their synergetic properties and enhanced performances. However, the restriction of lattice mismatch remains a severe obstacle for heterogrowth of various core-shells with two distinct crystal structures. Herein, a controlled synthesis of lattice-mismatched core-shell TiO2 @MoS2 nano-onion heterostructures is successfully developed, using unilamellar Ti0.87 O2 nanosheets as the starting material and the subsequent epitaxial growth of MoS2 on TiO2 . The formation of these core-shell nano-onions is attributed to an amorphous layer-induced heterogrowth mechanism. The number of MoS2 layers can be well tuned from few to over ten layers, enabling layer-dependent synergistic effects. The core-shell TiO2 @MoS2 nano-onion heterostructures exhibit significantly enhanced energy storage performance as lithium-ion battery anodes. The approach has also been extended to other lattice-mismatched systems such as TiO2 @MoSe2 , thus suggesting a new strategy for the growth of well-designed lattice-mismatched core-shell structures. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improved tribocorrosion performance of bio-functionalized TiO2 nanotubes under two-cycle sliding actions in artificial saliva.

PubMed

Alves, Sofia A; Rossi, André L; Ribeiro, Ana R; Toptan, Fatih; Pinto, Ana M; Shokuhfar, Tolou; Celis, Jean-Pierre; Rocha, Luís A

2018-04-01

After insertion into bone, dental implants may be subjected to tribocorrosive conditions resulting in the release of metallic ions and solid wear debris, which can induce to peri-implant inflammatory reactions accompanied by bone loss, and ultimately implant loosening. Despite the promising ability of TiO 2 nanotubes (NTs) to improve osseointegration and avoid infection-related failures, the understanding of their degradation under the simultaneous action of wear and corrosion (tribocorrosion) is still very limited. This study aims, for the first time, to study the tribocorrosion behavior of bio-functionalized TiO 2 NTs submitted to two-cycle sliding actions, and compare it with conventional TiO 2 NTs. TiO 2 NTs grown by anodization were doped with bioactive elements, namely calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), and zinc (Zn), through reverse polarization anodization treatments. Characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), were used to characterize the films. Tribocorrosion tests were carried out in artificial saliva (AS) by applying two cycles of reciprocating sliding actions. The open circuit potential (OCP) was monitored before, during, and after both cycles of sliding, during which the coefficient of friction (COF) was calculated. The resulting wear scars were analyzed by SEM and EDS, and wear volume measurements were performed by 2D profilometry. Finally, the mechanical features of TiO 2 NTs were accessed by nanoindentation. The results show that bio-functionalized TiO 2 NTs display an enhanced tribocorrosion performance, ascribed to the growth of a nano-thick oxide film at Ti/TiO 2 NTs interface, which significantly increased their adhesion strength to the substrate and consequently their hardness. Furthermore, it was discovered that during tribo-electrochemical solicitations, the formation of a P-rich tribofilm takes place, which grants both

Characterisation of slab waveguides, fabricated in CaF2 and Er-doped tungsten-tellurite glass by MeV energy N+ ion implantation, using spectroscopic ellipsometry and m-line spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bányász, I.; Berneschi, S.; Lohner, T.; Fried, M.; Petrik, P.; Khanh, N. Q.; Zolnai, Z.; Watterich, A.; Bettinelli, M.; Brenci, M.; Nunzi-Conti, G.; Pelli, S.; Righini, G. C.; Speghini, A.

2010-05-01

Slab waveguides were fabricated in Er-doped tungsten-tellurite glass and CaF2 crystal samples via ion implantation. Waveguides were fabricated by implantation of MeV energy N+ ions at the Van de Graaff accelerator of the Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics, Budapest, Hungary. Part of the samples was annealed. Implantations were carried out at energies of 1.5 MeV (tungsten-tellurite glass) and 3.5 MeV (CaF2). The implanted doses were between 5 x 1012 and 8 x 1016 ions/cm2. Refractive index profile of the waveguides was measured using SOPRA ES4G and Woollam M-2000DI spectroscopic ellipsometers at the Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, Budapest. Functionality of the waveguides was tested using a home-made instrument (COMPASSO), based on m-line spectroscopy and prism coupling technique, which was developed at the Materials and Photonics Devices Laboratory (MDF Lab.) of the Institute of Applied Physics in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy. Results of both types of measurements were compared to depth distributions of nuclear damage in the samples, calculated by SRIM 2007 code. Thicknesses of the guiding layer and of the implanted barrier obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry correspond well to SRIM simulations. Irradiationinduced refractive index modulation saturated around a dose of 8 x 1016 ions/cm2 in tungsten-tellurite glass. Annealing of the implanted waveguides resulted in a reduction of the propagation loss, but also reduced the number of supported guiding modes at the lower doses. We report on the first working waveguides fabricated in an alkali earth halide crystal implanted by MeV energy medium-mass ions.

Heterojunction Fe2O3-SnO2 Nanostructured Photoanode for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Hyun Soo; Shin, Sun; Noh, Jun Hong; Cho, In Sun; Hong, Kug Sun

2014-04-01

Hierarchically organized nanostructures were fabricated by growing SnO2 nanoparticles on a fluorine-doped tin oxide/glass substrate via a laser ablation method. Cauliflower-like clusters consisting of agglomerated nanoparticles were deposited and aligned with respect to the substrate with a large internal surface area and open channels of pores. The morphological changes of SnO2 nanostructured films were investigated as a function of the oxygen working pressure in the range of 100-500 mTorr. A nanostructured scaffold prepared at an oxygen working pressure of 100 mTorr exhibited the best photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. A Ti:Fe2O3-SnO2 nanostructured photoanode showed the photocurrent that was 34% larger than that of a Ti:Fe2O3 flat photoanode when the amount of Ti:Fe2O3 sensitizer was identical for the two photoanodes. The larger surface area and longer electron lifetime of the Ti:Fe2O3-SnO2 nanostructured photoanode explains its improved PEC performance.

Preparation and photoelectrocatalytic performance of N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane composite electrode material.

PubMed

Cheng, Zhi-Lin; Han, Shuai

2016-01-01

A novel composite electrode material based on a N-doped TiO2-loaded NaY zeolite membrane (N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane) for photoelectrocatalysis was presented. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible (UV-vis) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization techniques were used to analyze the structure of the N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane. The XRD and SEM results verified that the N-doped TiO2 nanoparticles with the size of ca. 20 nm have been successfully loaded on the porous stainless steel-supported NaY zeolite membrane. The UV-vis result showed that the N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane exhibited a more obvious red-shift than that of N-TiO2 nanoparticles. The XPS characterization revealed that the doping of N element into TiO2 was successfully achieved. The photoelectrocatalysis performance of the N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane composite electrode material was evaluated by phenol removal and also the effects of reaction conditions on the catalytic performance were investigated. Owing to exhibiting an excellent catalytic activity and good recycling stability, the N-doped TiO2/NaY zeolite membrane composite electrode material was of promising application for photoelectrocatalysis in wastewater treatment.

Micro-size spherical TiO2(B) secondary particles as anode materials for high-power and long-life lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takami, Norio; Harada, Yasuhiro; Iwasaki, Takuya; Hoshina, Keigo; Yoshida, Yorikazu

2015-01-01

Electrochemical properties of micro-size spherical TiO2(B) secondary particles have been investigated in order to develop TiO2(B) anodes for lithium-ion batteries with high-power and long-life performance. The spherical TiO2(B) electrodes with a small amount of a carbon conductor additive had a high electrode density of 2.2 g cm-3 and a volumetric reversible capacity of 475 mAh cm-3 comparable to that of graphite electrodes. Compared with nano-size needle-like TiO2(B) electrodes, the spherical TiO2(B) electrodes exhibited higher-rate discharge capability and longer-cycle life performance. The impedance of the TiO2(B)/electrolyte interface model indicated that the charge transfer resistance Rc and the passivating film resistance Rf of the spherical TiO2(B) were much smaller than those of the needle-like one. The high-rate discharge and the long-cycle performance of the spherical TiO2(B) electrode are attributed to the superior electronic connective property and Rc and Rf values smaller than those of the needle-like one. Lithium-ion cells using the spherical TiO2(B) anodes and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode with a capacity of 2.8 Ah exhibited a high energy density of 100 Wh kg-1, a high output power density of 1800 W kg-1 for 10 s pulse, and a long cycle life of more than 3000 cycles.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry study of N+ ion-implanted ethylene-norbornene films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šiljegović, M.; Kačarević-Popović, Z. M.; Stchakovsky, M.; Radosavljević, A. N.; Korica, S.; Novaković, M.; Popović, M.

2014-05-01

The optical properties of 150 keV N+ implanted ethylene-norbornene (TOPAS 6017S-04) copolymer were investigated using phase modulated spectroscopic ellipsometry (PMSE) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy in the ranges of 0.6-6.5 eV and of 1.5-6.2 eV, respectively. The single-effective-oscillator model was used to fit the calculated data to the experimental ellipsometric spectra. The results show that the oscillator and dispersion energies decrease with increasing ion fluence up to 1015 cm-2, and then these parameters increase with further fluence increasing. Analysis of the UV-Vis absorption spectra revealed the presence of indirect electronic transitions with the band gap energy in the range of 1.3 to 2.8 eV. It was found that both the band gap energy and the energy width of the distribution of localized band tail states decrease, while the values of Tauc coefficient increase with increasing the ion fluence. From the ellipsometric data we found that the real part of the dielectric function increased about 7% after irradiation with 1015 cm-2, and decreased about 10% in samples modified with 1016 cm-2.

Effect of band gap engineering in anionic-doped TiO2 photocatalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsudin, Emy Marlina; Abd Hamid, Sharifah Bee

2017-01-01

A simple yet promising strategy to modify TiO2 band gap was achieved via dopants incorporation which influences the photo-responsiveness of the photocatalyst. The mesoporous TiO2 was successfully mono-doped and co-doped with nitrogen and fluorine dopants. The results indicate that band gap engineering does not necessarily requires oxygen substitution with nitrogen or/and fluorine, but from the formation of additional mid band and Ti3+ impurities states. The formation of oxygen vacancies as a result of modified color centres and Ti3+ ions facilitates solar light absorption and influences the transfer, migration and trapping of the photo-excited charge carriers. The synergy of dopants in co-doped TiO2 shows better optical properties relative to single N and F doped TiO2 with c.a 0.95 eV band gap reduction. Evidenced from XPS, the synergy between N and F in the co-doped TiO2 uplifts the valence band towards the conduction band. However, the photoluminescence data reveals poorer electrons and holes separation as compared to F-doped TiO2. This observation suggests that efficient solar light harvesting was achievable via N and F co-doping, but excessive defects could act as charge carriers trapping sites.

Analysis of Ti and TiO2 nanolayers by total reflection X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubala-Kukuś, A.; Banaś, D.; Stabrawa, I.; Szary, K.; Sobota, D.; Majewska, U.; Wudarczyk-Moćko, J.; Braziewicz, J.; Pajek, M.

2018-07-01

Total reflection X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (TRXPS) is applied in the analysis of Ti and TiO2 nanolayers deposited on silicon and silicon dioxide substrates. The idea of application of total-reflection phenomenon for exciting X-ray used in the XPS technique is briefly discussed. The experimental setup and measurement conditions for the studied Ti and TiO2 layers are presented. The XPS spectra were registered both for the non-total and total reflection regimes. The survey spectra and C1s, N1s, Ti2p and O1s photoelectron peaks are shown. For energy calibration, the position of C1s photoelectron peak was applied (C-C component, binding energy 284.8 eV). The peak to background ratios are discussed as regards the dependence of the excitation angle. An increase of this ratio for the glancing angle 1°, being below critical angle of the X-ray beam and sample material, results in an improvement of XPS detection limit by factor up to 2. In the case of the Ti nanolayer, additionally, the thickness of the overlayer TiO2 is determined. As an example of applying the TRXPS technique, the analysis of Ti nanolayers implanted by highly charged Xe35+ ions of 280 keV energy is discussed. The Xe3d and O1s photoelectron peaks are presented and discussed.

Ion beam sputter etching of orthopedic implanted alloy MP35N and resulting effects on fatigue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wintucky, E. G.; Christopher, M.; Bahnuik, E.; Wang, S.

1981-01-01

The effects of two types of argon ion sputter etched surface structures on the tensile stress fatigue properties of orthopedic implant alloy MP35N were investigated. One surface structure was a natural texture resulting from direct bombardment by 1 keV argon ions. The other structure was a pattern of square holes milled into the surface by a 1 keV argon ion beam through a Ni screen mask. The etched surfaces were subjected to tensile stress only in fatigue tests designed to simulate the cyclic load conditions experienced by the stems of artificial hip joint implants. Both types of sputter etched surface structures were found to reduce the fatigue strength below that of smooth surface MP35N.

Three-dimensional SnO2@TiO2 double-shell nanotubes on carbon cloth as a flexible anode for lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haifeng; Ren, Weina; Cheng, Chuanwei

2015-07-01

In this study, three-dimensional SnO2@TiO2 double-shell nanotubes on carbon cloth are synthesized by a combination of the hydrothermal method for ZnO nanorods and a subsequent SnO2 and TiO2 thin film coating with atomic layer deposition (ALD). The as-prepared SnO2@TiO2 double-shell nanotubes are further tested as a flexible anode for Li ion batteries. The SnO2@TiO2 double-shell nanotubes/carbon cloth electrode exhibited a high initial discharge capacity (e.g. 778.8 mA h g-1 at a high current density of 780 mA g-1) and good cycling performance, which could be attributed to the 3D double-layer nanotube structure. The interior space of the stable TiO2 hollow tube can accommodate the large internal stress caused by volume expansion of SnO2 and protect SnO2 from pulverization and exfoliation.

Long-range effect of ion implantation of Raex and Hardox steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budzyński, P.; Kamiński, M.; Droździel, A.; Wiertel, M.

2016-09-01

Ion implantation involves introduction of ionized atoms of any element (nitrogen) to metals thanks to the high kinetic energy that they acquired in the electric field. The distribution of nitrogen ions implanted at E = 65 keV energy and D = 1.1017 N+ /cm2 fluence in the steel sample and vacancies produced by them was calculated using the SRIM program. This result was confirmed by RBS measurements. The initial maximum range of the implanted nitrogen ions is ∼⃒0.17 μm. This value is relatively small compared to the influence of nitriding on the thickness surface layer of modified steel piston rings. Measurements of the friction coefficient during the pin-on-disc tribological test were performed under dry friction conditions. The friction coefficient of the implanted sample increased to values characteristic of an unimplanted sample after ca. 1500 measurement cycles. The depth of wear trace is ca. 2.4 μm. This implies that the thickness of the layer modified by the implantation process is ∼⃒2.4 μm and exceeds the initial range of the implanted ions by an order of magnitude. This effect, referred to as a long-range implantation effect, is caused by migration of vacancies and nitrogen atoms into the sample. This phenomenon makes ion implantation a legitimate process of modification of the surface layer in order to enhance the tribological properties of critical components of internal combustion engines such as steel piston rings.

Mechanical properties of pulsed laser-deposited hydroxyapatite thin films implanted at high energy with N + and Ar + ions. Part II: nano-scratch tests with spherical tipped indenter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelletier, H.; Nelea, V.; Mille, P.; Muller, D.

2004-02-01

In this study we report a method to improve the adherence of hydroxyapatite (HA) thin films, using an ion beam implantation treatment. Crystalline HA films were grown by pulsed laser deposition technique (PLD), using an excimer KrF * laser. The films were deposited at room temperature in vacuum on Ti-5Al-2.5Fe alloy substrates previously coated with a ceramic TiN buffer layer and then annealed in ambient air at (500-600) °C. After deposition the films were implanted with N + and Ar + ions accelerated at high energy (1-1.5 MeV range) at a fixed dose of 10 16 cm -2. The intrinsic mechanical resistance and adherence to the TiN buffer layer of the implanted HA films have been evaluated by nano-scratch tests. We used for measurements a spherical indenter with a tip radius of 5 μm. Different scratch tests have been performed on implanted and unimplanted areas of films to put into evidence the effects of N + and Ar + ion implantation process on the films properties. Results show an enhancement of the dynamic mechanical properties in the implanted zones and influence of the nature of the implanted species. The best results are obtained for films implanted with nitrogen.

Fibroblast responses and antibacterial activity of Cu and Zn co-doped TiO2 for percutaneous implants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lan; Guo, Jiaqi; Yan, Ting; Han, Yong

2018-03-01

In order to enhance skin integration and antibacterial activity of Ti percutaneous implants, microporous TiO2 coatings co-doped with different doses of Cu2+ and Zn2+ were directly fabricated on Ti via micro-arc oxidation (MAO). The structures of coatings were investigated; the behaviors of fibroblasts (L-929) as well as the response of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were evaluated. During the MAO process, a large number of micro-arc discharges forming on Ti performed as penetrating channels; O2-, Ca2+, Zn2+, Cu2+ and PO43- delivered via the channels, giving rise to the formation of doped TiO2. Surface characteristics including phase component, topography, surface roughness and wettability were almost the same for different coatings, whereas, the amount of Cu doped in TiO2 decreased with the increased Zn amount. Compared with Cu single-doped TiO2 (0.77 Wt% Cu), the co-doped with appropriate amounts of Cu and Zn, for example, 0.55 Wt% Cu and 2.53 Wt% Zn, further improved proliferation of L-929, facilitated fibroblasts to switch to fibrotic phenotype, and enhanced synthesis of collagen I as well as the extracellular collagen secretion; the antibacterial properties including contact-killing and release-killing were also enhanced. By analyzing the relationship of Cu/Zn amount in TiO2 and the behaviors of L-929 and S. aureus, it can be deduced that when the doped Zn is in a low dose (<1.79 Wt%), the behaviors of L-929 and S. aureus are sensitive to the reduced amount of Cu2+, whereas, Zn2+ plays a key role in accelerating fibroblast functions and reducing S. aureus when its dose obviously increases from 2.63 to 6.47 Wt%.

Instability of Hydrogenated TiO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nandasiri, Manjula I.; Shutthanandan, V.; Manandhar, Sandeep

2015-11-06

Hydrogenated TiO2 (H-TiO2) is toted as a viable visible light photocatalyst. We report a systematic study on the thermal stability of H-implanted TiO2 using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). Protons (40 keV) implanted at a ~2 atom % level within a ~120 nm wide profile of rutile TiO2(110) were situated ~300 nm below the surface. NRA revealed that this H-profile broadened preferentially toward the surface after annealing at 373 K, dissipated out of the crystal into vacuum at 473 K, and was absent within the beam sampling depthmore » (~800 nm) at 523 K. Photoemission showed that the surface was reduced in concert with these changes. Similar anneals had no effect on pristine TiO2(110). The facile bulk diffusivity of H in rutile, as well as its activity toward interfacial reduction, significantly limits the utilization of H-TiO2 as a photocatalyst. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for DOE by Battelle. The research was performed using the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.« less

High carrier activation of Mg ion-implanted GaN by conventional rapid thermal annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niwa, Takaki; Fujii, Takahiro; Oka, Tohru

2017-09-01

A high activation ratio of Mg ion implantation by conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was demonstrated. To obtain the high activation ratio of Mg ion implantation, the dependence of hole concentration on Mg dose was investigated. A maximum hole concentration and a high activation ratio of 2.3% were obtained at a Mg dose of 2.3 × 1014 cm-2 between 9.2 × 1013 and 2.3 × 1015 cm-2. The ratio is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest ever obtained by conventional RTA.

Anatase TiO2@C composites with porous structure as an advanced anode material for Na ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaodong; Zhang, Zhian; Du, Ke; Lai, Yanqing; Fang, Jing; Li, Jie

2016-10-01

In this paper, we propose a facile strategy to synthesize the porous structure TiO2@C composites through a two-step method, in which the precursor of MIL-125(Ti) was firstly prepared by solvent thermal method and then calcined under inert atmosphere. When employed as anodes for Na ion batteries, TiO2@C composites can exhibit a superior cyclability with a reversible sodium storage capacity of 148 mAh g-1 at the current density 0.5 A g-1 after 500 cycles and an excellent rate performance with a capacity of 88.9 mAh g-1 even the current reached to 2.5 A g-1 due to the dispersion of anatase TiO2 throughout amorphous carbon matrix and the synergistic effect between the anatase TiO2 nanocrystals and carbon matrix, which can availably enhance the electric conductivity and alleviate the volumetric variation of TiO2 during the insertion/extraction process of Na+.

Effects of N precursor on the agglomeration and visible light photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2 nanocrystalline powder.

PubMed

Hu, Yulong; Liu, Hongfang; Rao, Qiuhua; Kong, Xiaodong; Sun, Wei; Guo, Xingpeng

2011-04-01

N-doped TiO2 nanocrystalline powders were prepared by the sol-gel method using various N precursors, including triethylamine, hydrazine hydrate, ethylenediamine, ammonium hydroxide, and urea. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption isotherms, transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activities of as-prepared samples under irradiation of visible light (lambda > 405 nm) were evaluated by photodecomposition of methyl orange. The alkalinity of N precursor was found to play a key role in the gel process. The N precursor with moderate alkalinity causes TiO2 nanoparticles to be sol-transformed into a loosely agglomerated gel. This transformation facilitates the preparation of an N-doped TiO2 powder with small nanocrystal size, large specific surface area, and high N doping level and results in high visible light photocatalytic activity. The N in TiO2 with N is binding energy at 399-400 eV may be assigned to the N-H species located in interstitial sites of TiO2 lattice which is the active N species responsible for the visible light photocatalytic activity. The N species of N 1s peak at 402 and 405 eV are ineffective to the visible light photocatalytic activity and may inhibit the photocatalytic activity. Moreover, a TiO2 nanoparticle powder with large specific area can be achieved by using urea as a template and then by using ammonium hydroxide to transform the sol into gel.

Synthesis and photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2 produced in a solid phase reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Gang; Pan, Hongfei; Chen, Dan; Zhang, Zhihua; Wen, Bin

2013-02-01

N-doped TiO2 was synthesized by calcining a mixture of titanic acid and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) at temperatures above 500 °C. The final samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The photocatalytic activity of N-doped TiO2 was studied by assessing the degradation of methylene blue in an aqueous solution, under visible light and UV light irradiation. It was found that the N-doped TiO2 displayed higher photocatalytic activity than pure TiO2, under both visible and UV light.