Preparation,Characterization and Solar Photocatalytic Activity of P-YFeO_3-N-TiO_2 Nanojunctions

1 Results YFeO3-TiO2 composite photocatalysts with p-n heterojunction have been prepared by physical amalgamation.The physical and photophysical properties of the composites were characterized by XRD,TEM,UV-vis/DRS,XPS.Effects of calcination temperature and constitute content on structure and surface characterization were also investigated.Results show that the presence of p-n junction not only has visible light harvesting but potential force for hole-electron pair separation.A preliminary investigation of photocatalytic activity on orange II showed that YFeO3-TiO2 heterojunctions could be activated under visible light irradiation.The optimum photocatalytic junction is w(TiO2) =90% in the composites after calcining at 600 ℃.The improved photocatalytic activity,comparing with that of pure TiO2 and pure YFeO3,might attribute to the p-n heterojunction composed of p-type YFeO3 and n-type TiO2.Study of the process of electron and hole migratation will facilitate the exploitation of novel,highly efficient,visible-light-driven photocatalyst.     

Photoelectrochemical synergetic degradation of Acid Orange II with TiO2 modified β-PbO2 electrode

Electrochemically assisted photocatalysis is an effective approach to improve photocatalytic efficiency. In this paper, modified β-PbO2 electrode was prepared by TiO2 co-deposition and characterized by SEM and XRD. Then 2.0g TiO2 modified β-PbO2 electrode (2.0 g TiO2 involved in the 200 mL co-deposition solution) was used in electrochemically assisted photocatalytic degradation of Acid Orange II and the influence of initial pH values was investigated when the potential applied across the electrodes was 1.5 V. When the potential applied was 2.5 V, the difference of the degradation process and the final products were studied. The results indicated that 2.0 g TiO2 modified β-PbO2 electrode was different from the unmodified one in that the β-PbO2 crystals became finer and the electrode became more compact and more uniform. The synergetic effect in electrochemically assisted photocatalytic degradation of Acid Orange Ⅱ was observed and degradation efficiency and TOC removal were the highest at initial solution pH 2.0. By UV-visible spectral analysis, it was proved that photoelectrochemical synergetic degradation of Acid Orange Ⅱ went through the step of producing main product maleic acid for the solution at the initial pH 2.0 within 2 h, but the degradation was slow for the solution at the initial pH 12.0.     

Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide for Solar Cells and Lithium Batteries

1 Results Nanocrystalline TiO2 (anatase) has attracted considerable interest for applications in regenerative photoelectrochemical solar cells[1]. This device is based on charge injection from photoexcited organometallic dye which is adsorbed on the TiO2 surface. A considerable enhancement of the solar cell efficiency was demonstrated on highly organized mesoporous TiO2 thin films made by supramolecular templating with amphiphilic triblock copolymer Pluronic[2]. Titanium dioxide can electrochemically accommodate Li which is useful for a design of new Li-ion batteries. Whereas the charge storage in anatase or rutile is based on the Li-insertion into the bulk crystal lattice, the monoclinic TiO2(B) exhibits an unusual pseudocapacitive Li-storage mechanism[3]. Photo(electro)chemical studies were carried out employing various forms of TiO2 ranging from single-crystal electrodes[4] towards polycrystalline mesoscopic films, either from randomly distributed nanocrystals[1] or from organized framework nanotextures[2]. As expected the photoelectrochemical and Li-insertion activity of mesoscopic TiO2 depend significantly on the electrode morphology. Salient features of Ti(Ⅳ) oxide electrodes will be reviewed for the applications in solar cells and Li-ion batteries.     

Performances improvement of eosin Y sensitized solar cells by modifying TiO2 electrode with silane-coupling reagent

Chemical fixing of xanthene dye （eosin Y） on the surface of TiO2 electrode was carried out by modifying the electrode with silane-coupling reagent to obtain stable dye-sensitized TiO2 electrode. Such silane modification can not only evidently enhance the stability of dye-sensitized TiO2 electrode but also improve the energy conversion efficiency of the assembled cells by increasing short-circuit photocurrent （Jsc） and open-circuit photovoltage （Voc）. It was found that the improvements of cell performances differ depending on the composition of the electrolyte. The optimum cell of the cell performance was achieved in the electrolyte with 0.5 mol/L TBAI/0.05 mol/L 12/EC：PC（3：1 w/w）, yielding Jsc of 4.69 mA. cm-2, Voc of 0,595 V, fill factor （FF） of 0.64 and ηof 1,78%, Different spectroscopic techniques including UV-Vis spectra, fluorescence spectra, EIS and dark current measurements were employed to derive reasonable analysis and explanations.     

Preparation and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO-modified TiO_2 electrodes

The ZnO-modified TiO 2 electrode was prepared by adding Zn(CH 3 COO) 2 ·2H 2 O to the TiO 2 colloid during the sol-gel production process,and was used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs).The open circuit voltage (V OC) and fill factor (ff) of the cells were improved significantly.The performances of the ZnO-modified TiO 2 electrode such as dark current,transient photocurrent,impedance,absorption spectra,and flat band potential (V fb) were investigated.It is found that the interface charge recombination impedance increases and V fb shifts about 200 mV toward the cathodic potential.The effect mechanism of ZnO modification on the performance of DSCs may be that ZnO occupies the surface states of the TiO 2 film.     

Fabrication Research and Property of Enhanced Petaling Cold Cathode with Carbon Nanotube

With high effective screen-printing technique, a new triode field emission display (FED)with enhanced petaling cold cathode was fabricated. For enhancing the field emission performance,a series of improved measures was adopted in the fabrication course. Seen from the fabrication structure of enhanced petaling cold cathode,the bar conducting electrode and the petaling bottom electrode were fabricated with the sintered silver slurry on cathode glass faceplate. The luminescence image with green phosphor was displayed for the sealed enhanced petaling cold cathode FED. The measured results showed that the enhanced petaling cold cathode had good field emission performance. The enhanced petaling cold cathode FED possessed low turn-on electric-field of 1. 95 V /μm,large emission current of 1 389. 6 μA,and high luminance brightness of 1 520 cd /m2 .     

The hemocompatibility and the reabsorption function of TiO2 nanotubes biomembranes

A novel high-intensity TiO2 nanotubes array membrane was fabricated via electrochemical anodization of highly pure titanium foil and an open-ended TiO2 nanotubes array membrane was obtained by HF gas etching at the bottom of the nanotubes. Pig tubular epithelial cells (LLC-PK1) and vascular endothelial cells (ECV304) were cultivated on the open-ended TiO2 nanotubes surface through a mixing implantation method and TiO2 nanotubes biomembrane materials with physiological function were successfully produced. Hemocompatibility of glass slides, pure titanium, TiO2 nanotubes without cells and TiO2 nanotubes with culture cells were investigated by the plasma recalcification time method and reabsorption of sodium and potassium were measured by custom-designed devices. The results show that the hemocompatibility of the TiO2 nanotubes array membrane with culture cells was superior to the control group, and the biomembrane has an excellent reabsorption function. This demonstrates that a TiO2 nanotubes array membrane has excellent physiological function and is an ideal candidate material for biological dialysis.     

Low Cost Fabrication of Parallel Grid Electrode Group for Carbon Nanotube Field Emission Display

Based on simple screen printing technique,the parallel grid electrode group was developed. One grid electrode included the left and the right branch electrodes,which were formed with the solidified silver slurry on grid substrate. Under one anode pixel,the left and the right branch electrodes would control respectively the electron emission of two independent carbon nanotube （CNT） field emitters on the same cathode electrode. With the parallel grid electrode group, the capacitance effect between grid-cathode electrodes would be reduced due to the decreased grid electrode fabrication area. And the service life of field emission display （FED） could be prolonged owing to the existence of spare branch electrode. Using CNT as field emitter,the FED with parallel grid electrode group was fabricated,which possessed better grid control performance, high luminescence image brightness, and low fabrication cost. The turn-on electric-field was 2. 13 V /mm and the maximum field emission current had reached 1 506. 2 mA.     

Influence of substrate metals on the crystal growth of AlN films

AlN films were deposited by reactive radio frequency (RF) sputtering on various bottom electrodes, such as Al, Ti, Mo, Au/Ti, and Pt/Ti. The effects of substrate metals on the orientation of AlN thin films were investigated. The results of X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy show that the orientation of AlN films depends on the kinds of substrate metals evidently. The differences of AlN films deposited on various metal electrodes are attributed to the differences in lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficient between the AlN material and substrate metals. The AlN film deposited on the Pt/Ti electrode reveals highly the c-axis orientation with well-textured columnar structure. The positive role of the Pt/Ti electrode in achieving the high-quality AlN films and high-performance film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) may be attributed to the smaller lattice mismatch as well as the similarity of thermal expansion coefficient between the deposited AlN material and the Pt/Ti electrode substrate.     

TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>@MgO core-shell film: Fabrication and application to dye-sensitized solar cells

In this study,TiO2@MgO core-shell film was obtained by using a simple chemical bath deposition method to coat a thin MgO film around TiO2 nanoparticles. The core-shell configuration was characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD),scanning elec-tron microscopy (SEM),energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX),and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Lattice fringes were observed for the TiO2 particles,and the MgO shell showed an amorphous structure,revealing a clear distinction between the core and shell materials. Applying the core-shell film as photoanode to the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs),it shows a superior performance compared to the pure TiO2 electrode. Under the illumination of simulated sunlight (75 mW-cm-2),the short circuit photocurrent (Jsc),the open circuit photovoltage (Voc),and the fill factor (fF) are 8.80 mA-cm-2,646 mV,and 0.69,respectively,and the conversion efficiency (η) in-creased by 21.8% (from 4.32% to 5.26%) when dipping for opti-mum condition.     

Layered Fe(Ⅲ) doped TiO_2 thin-film electrodes for the photoelectrocatalytic oxidation of glucose and potassium hydrogen phthalate

Four types of TiO 2 thin-film electrodes were fabricated from TiO 2 and Fe(III) doped TiO 2 sols using a layer-by-layer dip-coating technique. Electrodes fabricated were TF (pure TiO 2 surface, Fe(III)-TiO 2 bottom layer), FT (Fe(III)-TiO 2 surface, pure TiO 2 bottom layer), TT (both layers pure TiO 2 ) and FF (both layers Fe(III)-TiO 2 ). The photoelectrochemical behavior of these electrodes was characterized using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and steady-stat...     

Micro-arc oxidization fabrication and ethanol sensing performance of Fe-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films

In-situ pure TiO₂ and Fe-doped TiO₂ thin films were synthesized on Ti plates via the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technique. The as-fabricated anatase TiO₂ thin film-based conductometric sensors were employed to measure the gas sensitivity to ethanol. The results showed that Fe ions could be easily introduced into the MAO-TiO₂ thin films by adding precursor K₄(FeCN)₆·3H₂O into the Na₃PO₄ electrolyte. The amount of doped Fe ions increased almost linearly with the concentration of K₄(FeCN)₆·3H₂O increasing, eventually affecting the ethanol sensing performances of TiO₂ thin films. It was found that the enhanced sensor signals obtained had an optimal concentration of Fe dopant (1.28at%), by which the maximal gas sensor signal to 1000 ppm ethanol was estimated to be 7.91 at 275°C. The response time was generally reduced by doped Fe ions, which could be ascribed to the increase of oxygen vacancies caused by Fe³⁺ substituting for Ti⁴⁺.     

Visible light photocatalytic decoloration of methylene blue on novel N-doped TiO2

Novel N-doped TiO2 (denoted as N-NTA600) was prepared by treating nanotube titanic acid (NTA) in NH3 flow. Its visible light photocatalytic activity,evaluated by decoloration reaction of methylene blue,is higher than that of N-P25(600) prepared by treatment of P25-TiO2 in the same condition. It is suggested that the origin of visible-light photocatalytic activity is single-electron-trapped oxygen vacancy (Vo·) modified by chemisorbed NO.     

Preparation and characterization of in-site regenerated TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-ACFs photocatalyst

In-site regenerated titanium dioxide-activated carbon fibers (TiO₂-ACFs) photocatalyst was prepared by the sol-gel method. Detailed surface and structural characterization of the TiO₂-ACFs photocatalyst was carried out. The photoactivity of TiO₂-ACFs under ultraviolet irradiation was compared with original ACFs and pure TiO₂ by the degradation of methylene blue aqueous solution. The degradation efficiency by the TiO₂ (5wt%)-ACFs sample is much higher than that by TiO₂ and ACFs. The results show that the photocatalysis by TiO₂-ACFs is a six-step process. The adsorption-transfer-photocatalysis rate of TiO₂-ACFs is higher than the adsorption-photocatalysis rate of TiO₂, so the photocatalysis rate of the TiO₂-ACFs system is higher than that of TiO₂ photocatalyst.     

Preparation and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO-modified TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> electrodes

The ZnO-modified TiO₂ electrode was prepared by adding Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O to the TiO₂ colloid during the sol-gel production process, and was used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The open circuit voltage (V _OC) and fill factor (ff) of the cells were improved significantly. The performances of the ZnO-modified TiO₂ electrode such as dark current, transient photocurrent, impedance, absorption spectra, and flat band potential (V _fb) were investigated. It is found that the interface charge recombination impedance increases and V _fb shifts about 200 mV toward the cathodic potential. The effect mechanism of ZnO modification on the performance of DSCs may be that ZnO occupies the surface states of the TiO₂ film.     

Improved and excellent CO sensing properties of Cu-doped TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanofibers

Cu-doped TiO2 nanofibers with an average diameter of about 80 nm are synthesized through an electrospinning method. Both anatase and rutile crystallographic structures are found in the fibers based on XRD results. Compared with pure TiO2 nanofibers, the Cu-doped TiO2 nanofibers exhibit improved CO sensing properties at 300°C. The sensitivity of Cu-doped TiO2 nanofibers is up to 3 when the sensor is exposed to 5 ppm CO, and the response and recovery times are about 4 and 8 s, respectively. Good selectivity i...     

Dissolution of Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>5</Subscript> inclusions in CaO-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> slags at 1823 K

Al-Ti-O inclusions always clog submerged nozzles in Ti-bearing Al-killed steel. A typical synthesized Al₂TiO₅ inclusion was immersed in a CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ molten slag for different durations at 1823 K. The Al₂TiO₅ dissolution paths and mechanism were revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Decreased amounts of Ti and Al and increased amounts of Si and Ca at the dissolution boundary prove that inclusion dissolution and slag penetration simultaneously occur. SiO₂ diffuses or penetrates the inclusion more quickly than CaO, as indicated by the w(CaO)/w(SiO₂) value in the reaction region. A liquid product (containing 0.7–1.2 w(CaO)/w(SiO₂), 15wt%–20wt% Al₂O₃, and 5wt%–15wt% TiO₂) forms on the inclusion surface when Al₂TiO₅ is dissolved in the slag. Al₂TiO₅ initially dissolves faster than the diffusion rate of the liquid product toward the bulk slag. With increasing reaction time, the boundary reaches its largest distance, the Al₂TiO₅ dissolution rate equals the liquid product diffusion rate, and the dissolution process remains stable until the inclusion is completely dissolved.     

Comparison between P25 and anatase-based TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> quasi-solid state dye sensitized solar cells

Pure anatase TiO2 films have been made via hydration of titanium isopropoxide using a sol-gel tech-nique, while mixed TiO2 films which contained both anatase and rutile TiO2 were made from commercial P25 powder. Quasi-solid state dye-sensitized solar cells were fabricated with these two kinds of mesoporous films and a comparison study was carried out. The result showed that the open-circuit photovoltages （Voc） for both kinds of cells were essentially the same, whereas the short-circuit photo-currents （1sc） of the anatase-based cells were about 33% higher than that of the P25-based cells. The highest photocurrent intensity of the anatase-based cell was 6.12 mA/cm^2 and that of the P25-based cell was 4.60 mA/cm^2. Under an illumination with the light intensity of 30 mW/cm^2, the corresponding energy conversion efficiency was measured to be 7.07% and 6.89% for anatase-based cells and P25-based cells, respectively.