0000000000244177
AUTHOR
Isabel Sobrados
showing 6 related works from this author
The influence of the anatase nanoparticles boundaries on the titania activity performance
2014
Metal oxides structures, formed by ordered self-assembling of crystalline nanoparticles aggregates, are attracting growing attention in fields such as catalysis or solar cells. The properties of these structures are influenced not only by their morphology and nanoparticles composition but also by the assembled particles boundaries. In order to determine the influence of these boundaries on the structures properties, the present investigation has been devoted to study the characteristics of anatase nanoparticles boundaries in titania aggregates prepared by TiCl4 hydrolysis at low temperature. Proton magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance and high resolution transmission electron mic…
Anatase photocatalyst with supported low crystalline TiO2: The influence of amorphous phase on the activity
2018
Abstract In a previous study on commercial TiO2 nanoparticles (J. Soria et al.) we had shown that the superficial disordered layers influence their textural and reactivity features. In the present work we used well crystallized anatase particles (commercial TiO2, BDH) as support of different amounts of titania powders, prepared by TiCl4 hydrolysis and constituted by nanocrystals diluted into an amorphous matrix. The reactivity of these photocatalysts has been tested for the selective oxidation of 4-methoxybenzyl alcohol to aldehyde in aqueous suspension. The catalyst characteristics have been studied using adsorption-desorption isotherms, TEM, HRTEM, TGA, PL, DRIFT-IR, and 1H MAS-NMR spectr…
The effect of the surface disordered layer on the photoreactivity of titania nanoparticles
2017
It is well known that the surface of metal oxide catalysts presents, usually, non-crystalline species containing impurities and low coordinated cations, which are observed in HRTEM images as a disordered layer of amorphous phase. Despite of being these species more accessible and less stable than the crystalline catalysts components, they have been rarely considered when analysing the catalyst activity. In this work, we have studied the effect of a treatment with HCl solution at pH = 0 on the characteristics of the disordered layer in two commercial anatase TiO2 samples, using techniques such as TGA, 1H MAS-NMR and HRTEM, and by determining these sample photocatalytic activity for the 4-nit…
Anatase nanoparticles boundaries resulting from titanium tetrachloride hydrolysis
2017
An important factor that governs solar energy transformation into electrical or chemical energy, when using nanoparticles-based devices, is the spatial location of traps limiting electron transport. Evidences have been presented indicating that the electron diffusion is strongly influenced by nanoparticle boundaries, whose characteristics depend on the particles preparation. In the present work we have studied the role of hydrated excess proton structures in the formation of anatase nanoparticles boundaries in samples prepared by TiCl4 hydrolysis at low temperature and strong acidic conditions. The samples, constituted by anatase nanocrystals but, mainly, by amorphous titania, are studied b…
Influence of Amorphous TiO2-x on Titania Nanoparticle Growth and Anatase-to-Rutile Transformation
2012
Amorphous TiO2-x formed together with precursors and anatase nuclei, during TiCl4 hydrolysis at soft conditions, influences both crystal growth and phase stability. The highly defective nanoparticles of anatase grow by reaction of their basic hydroxyls with acidic ones of TiO2 precursor species. The growth of anatase crystals, however, is affected by their interactions with simultaneously formed amorphous TiO2-x which increasingly covers the particles hindering the anatase-precursor contact. The interactions among anatase and amorphous and precursor components have been studied by H-1-MAS (magic angle spinning) NMR spectroscopy. The interaction between acid and basic hydroxyls favors the fo…
Influence of the Preparation Temperature on the Photocatalytic Activity of 3D-Ordered Macroporous Anatase Formed with an Opal Polymer Template
2018
Even if many aspects of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) titania have been extensively studied, the interplay between the amorphous and crystalline components of their skeleton wall has not attracted too much attention, although it should strongly influence the properties of these materials. In order to gain new insight on this interplay, we have studied in detail the wall structure of three 3DOM titania samples prepared by heating the 3DOM titania precursor at 673, 773, and 873 K by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, N2 adsorption/desorption, pore-size distribution, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and IHmagic-angle-…