0000000000170813
AUTHOR
Maciej Kwiatkowski
ZnO nanorods covered with a TiO2 layer: simple sol–gel preparation, and optical, photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical properties
In this work, composite core–shell ZnO/TiO2 materials were fabricated by deposition of TiO2 layers via a sol–gel method onto ZnO nanorods hydrothermally grown on an ITO electrode. Two approaches to the sol–gel procedure resulted in strongly different morphologies and thicknesses of the deposited TiO2 layer, as shown in electron microscopy studies. The decrease of the optical band gap energies of the ZnO/TiO2 composites by about 0.2–0.3 eV with respect to the TiO2 nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods was determined from UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The photocatalytic activities of the systems were determined by investigation of the decolorization of Methylene Blue (MB) in aqueous solution, …
Enhancement of visible light photoelectrocatalytic activity of ZnO(core)/TiO2(shell) composite by N-doping and decorating with Au0 nanoparticles
Abstract The composites consisting of ITO-supported ZnO nanorods covered with TiO2 shell were doped with nitrogen and decorated with gold nanoparticles in order to improve their photocatalytic activity under visible light. N-doped TiO2 (TiO2(N)) was prepared under mild conditions through a simple sol-gel synthesis in the presence of NH4Cl. Such procedure results in formation of a highly porous shell of TiO2(N) on the ZnO nanorods. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of the size 7–25 nm were grafted onto the surface of TiO2 as well as TiO2(N) by a photodeposition method from aqueous solution of [AuCl(4-x)(OH)x]− precursor at pH 6.7. The composition and microstructure of the prepared samples were …
Improvement of photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity of ZnO/TiO2 core/shell system through additional calcination: Insight into the mechanism
Abstract ZnO/TiO2 composites were prepared by sol-gel deposition of TiO2 on ZnO nanorods hydrothermally grown on electrically conductive indium tin oxide substrate (ITO). It has been shown that the ZnO/TiO2 interface plays a key role in enhancement of photodecomposition of methylene blue (MB) used as a model test pollutant, under monochromatic light irradiation (400 nm). The increase of photocatalytic activity was attributed to the shift of absorption edge of ZnO/TiO2 towards visible light in comparison with bare TiO2. Further enhancement of photocatalytic activity of ZnO/TiO2 was achieved through its additional calcination at 450 °C for 3 h. This treatment brings 40% increase in the rate o…
ZnO(core)/TiO2(shell) composites : influence of TiO2 microstructure, N-doping and decoration with Au nanoparticles on photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activity
The aim of the thesis is to study the influence of microstructure of ZnO/TiO2 composites on their properties in photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants, and in photoassisted water oxidation. To realize such study we chose the design based on ZnO nanorods supported on ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)-coated glass electrode. The ZnO nanorods were then covered with a layer of TiO2 under different conditions. The composition and microstructure of the obtained ZnO(core)/TiO2(shell) composites were modified in the aim to elucidate how these parameters influence their photocatalytic activity. The results of studies lead to elaboration of two most distinctive variants of sol-gel procedure that allow…