Search results for "Chemical engineering"

Mesocrystalline Cr and Sb-codoped anatase visible-light-driven photocatalyst

2018

Abstract We report on the synthesis, characterization and visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity of mesocrystalline Cr- and Sb-codoped anatase nanoparticles. Discrete and morphologically well-defined assemblies of anatase nanoparticles sized below 100 nm × 50 nm were prepared by hydrothermal aging of aqueous solutions containing titanium alkoxide, chromium acetylacetonate, antimony acetate and triethanolamine (TEOA) as stabilizer. The as-prepared and TEOA-free doped nanoparticles showed similar crystallographic parameters and spectroscopic features. The incorporation of Cr and Sb dopant cations into the anatase nanoparticles was evaluated by Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction pa…

Nature of Interactions at the Interface of Two Water-Saturated Commercial TiO2 Polymorphs

2013

Two commercial TiO2 samples, a 100% anatase and a 100% rutile, were used for the fast field cycling NMR experiments. The results showed a different behavior between the different samples. In particular, water molecules were unbonded to the solid surface for the rutile sample, whereas they appeared to chemically interact with the surface through H-bond formation with the anatase sample. The above findings accord with the generally lower activity of rutile with respect to anatase reported in literature for photocatalytic oxidation reactions in water. The difficulty of water to interact with rutile surface, indeed, could hinder the formation of OH radicals, which are the most important oxidant…

Reversible Photodoping of TiO2 Nanoparticles for Photochromic Applications

2018

Financial support from the Estonian Research Council (IUT2-25, IUT2-26, and PUTJD680) is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by the Academy of Finland (decision numbers 141481 and 286713) and by the EU through the European Regional Development Fund (Center of Excellence for Zero Energy and Resource Efficient Smart Buildings and Districts-ZEBE, 2014-2020.4.01.15-0016). Work is supported by the Latvian Academy of Sciences in the framework of FLPP (Plasmonic oxide quantum dots for energy saving smart windows, lzp-2018/1-0187).

Activity of phthalocyanine-sensitized TiO2-anatase in photooxidation of sulfite ions

2015

Abstract Hybrid catalysts based on the TiO2 matrix impregnated with Nd, Eu and Yb diphthalocyanines proved effective in oxidation of sulfite ions under irradiation with light from the UV-visible range. Micro- and nano-crystalline anatase powders were used in preparation of the photocatalysts, which were applied in the form of a suspension in the water phase. The reaction yield was found to depend on the phthalocyanine sensitizer used and the conditions of TiO2 impregnation. The best results were obtained when micro-anatase impregnated with Yb-diphthalocyanine was used.

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…

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…

Step-by-Step Growth of HKUST-1 on Functionalized TiO2 Surface: An Efficient Material for CO2 Capture and Solar Photoreduction

2018

The present study reports on a simple preparation strategy of a hybrid catalyst, TiO2/HKUST-1, containing TiO2 anatase nanoparticles (NPs) with tailored morphology and photocatalytic activity coupled with a porous metal-organic framework (MOF), namely HKUST-1, as an advanced material for the CO2 photocatalytic reduction. In detail, TiO2/HKUST-1 catalyst was prepared via an easy slow-diffusion method combined with a step-by-step self-assembly at room temperature. The growth of crystalline HKUST-1 onto titania surface was achieved by functionalizing TiO2 nanocrystals, with phosphoesanoic acid (PHA), namely TiO2-PHA, which provides an intimate contact between MOF and TiO2. The presence of a cr…

Mesocrystalline anatase nanoparticles synthesized using a simple hydrothermal approach with enhanced light harvesting for gas-phase reaction

2018

Mesocrystalline TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrothermal approach. A simple two-step procedure at low temperature (<140 °C) allowed the nucleation of primary particles sized 2–4 nm and their subsequent assembly as almost spherical aggregates sized ≈20 nm. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies, and HRTEM studies confirmed anatase as the unique TiO2 crystalline phase. The mesocrystalline structure of the anatase aggregates was clearly evidenced by HRTEM and SAED results. The mesocrystalline nanopowders exhibit a mesoporous structure with a surface area and pore volume of 63.5 m2 g−1 and 0.22 cm3 g−1, respectively. Ultraviolet …

2018

We report a novel multi-step method for the preparation of ordered mesoporous titania scaffolds and show an illustrative example of their application to solar cells. The method is based on (monolayer) colloidal nanosphere lithography that makes use of polystyrene nanoparticles organised at a water–air interface and subsequently transferred onto a solid substrate. A titania precursor solution (titanium(IV) isopropoxide in ethanol) is then drop-cast onto the monolayer and left to “incubate” overnight. Surprisingly, instead of the expected inverse monolayer-structure, a subsequent calcination step of the precursor yields an ordered monolayer of hollow titania nanospheres with a wall thickness …