Single source molecular precursors （SSPs） provide an opportunity to get control over the microstructure of nanomaterials at atomic level. A SSP was designed and developed for the synthesis of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite ...Single source molecular precursors （SSPs） provide an opportunity to get control over the microstructure of nanomaterials at atomic level. A SSP was designed and developed for the synthesis of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite by sol gel method. In a typical synthe-sis process, a bimetallic molecular compound with chemical formula [Cl2TiZn（dmae）4] （dmae=dimethylaminoethanol） was synthesized and its chemical composition was deter-mined by elemental analysis. The obtained compound has shown excellent solubility in common organic solvents, a prerequisite for its use in sol gel method as SSP. The SSP ob-tained was controllably hydrolyzed by adding equimolar amount of water using ethanol as solvent to get ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite gel. The resulting gel was precipitated at pH=9 and sintered at 200 ℃ （T200）, 400℃ （T400）, and 600℃ （T600）. The XRD analyses have shown that the as synthesized （non-sintered, T00） powder was amorphous. However, the crystallinity improved upon sintering, and the XRD analyses revealed that the resulting nanomaterials were composed of mixed oxides i.e., ZnO and TiO2. The ZnO was in wurtzite （hexagonal） while the TiO2 was in brookite （orthorhombic） phase. The increase in particlesize was further confirmed from BET analysis and SEM micrographs. The IR spectra ob-tained for the resulting powder have shown the peculiar vibrational bands for Zn-O and Ti-O. Furthermore, the IR spectra revealed that the non-sintered ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite had significant number of OH group which was removed upon sintering. The photocatalytic activities of the ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites were tested. All the samples have shown good photocatalytic activities. However, the T400 has shown higher activity than the T00, T200, and T600. The higher photocatalytic activity of T400 than T00, T200, and T600 may be due to improved crystallinity which ensures efficient grain boundary interfaces.展开更多
Mesoporous TiO2microsphere(MTM)was synthesized via a simple solution route and then mixed with commercial TiO2(P25)to form highly homogeneous and stable TiO2colloid by simple hydrothermal treatment.The TiO2colloid was...Mesoporous TiO2microsphere(MTM)was synthesized via a simple solution route and then mixed with commercial TiO2(P25)to form highly homogeneous and stable TiO2colloid by simple hydrothermal treatment.The TiO2colloid was coated onto the plastic conductive substrate to prepare mesoporous TiO2film for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs)by low-temperature heat treatment.The influence of MTM content on the physicochemical properties of the flexible TiO2film was characterized by scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer,N2adsorption-desorption isotherms,UV–vis absorption and diffuse reflectance spectra.It is revealed that with increasing the MTM content,the dye-loading capability of TiO2film and light-harvesting efficiency of flexible DSSCs are improved due to MTM having high surface area and acting as a light scattering center,respectively,resulting in the enhancement of photocurrent of flexible DSSCs.However,more and larger cracks having negative effect on the performances of flexible DSSCs are formed simultaneously.Under the optimal condition with MTM content of 20%,a flexible DSSC with overall light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 2.74%is achieved under a simulated solar light irradiation of 100 mW cm 2(AM 1.5),with 26%improvement in comparison with DSSCs based on P25 alone.展开更多
文摘Single source molecular precursors （SSPs） provide an opportunity to get control over the microstructure of nanomaterials at atomic level. A SSP was designed and developed for the synthesis of ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite by sol gel method. In a typical synthe-sis process, a bimetallic molecular compound with chemical formula [Cl2TiZn（dmae）4] （dmae=dimethylaminoethanol） was synthesized and its chemical composition was deter-mined by elemental analysis. The obtained compound has shown excellent solubility in common organic solvents, a prerequisite for its use in sol gel method as SSP. The SSP ob-tained was controllably hydrolyzed by adding equimolar amount of water using ethanol as solvent to get ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite gel. The resulting gel was precipitated at pH=9 and sintered at 200 ℃ （T200）, 400℃ （T400）, and 600℃ （T600）. The XRD analyses have shown that the as synthesized （non-sintered, T00） powder was amorphous. However, the crystallinity improved upon sintering, and the XRD analyses revealed that the resulting nanomaterials were composed of mixed oxides i.e., ZnO and TiO2. The ZnO was in wurtzite （hexagonal） while the TiO2 was in brookite （orthorhombic） phase. The increase in particlesize was further confirmed from BET analysis and SEM micrographs. The IR spectra ob-tained for the resulting powder have shown the peculiar vibrational bands for Zn-O and Ti-O. Furthermore, the IR spectra revealed that the non-sintered ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite had significant number of OH group which was removed upon sintering. The photocatalytic activities of the ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposites were tested. All the samples have shown good photocatalytic activities. However, the T400 has shown higher activity than the T00, T200, and T600. The higher photocatalytic activity of T400 than T00, T200, and T600 may be due to improved crystallinity which ensures efficient grain boundary interfaces.
基金supported financially by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(2009AA03Z217)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(90922028)+1 种基金the Key Project of Chinese Ministry of Education(211204)the Fund of Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials(NM10-5)
文摘Mesoporous TiO2microsphere(MTM)was synthesized via a simple solution route and then mixed with commercial TiO2(P25)to form highly homogeneous and stable TiO2colloid by simple hydrothermal treatment.The TiO2colloid was coated onto the plastic conductive substrate to prepare mesoporous TiO2film for flexible dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs)by low-temperature heat treatment.The influence of MTM content on the physicochemical properties of the flexible TiO2film was characterized by scanning electron microscope,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer,N2adsorption-desorption isotherms,UV–vis absorption and diffuse reflectance spectra.It is revealed that with increasing the MTM content,the dye-loading capability of TiO2film and light-harvesting efficiency of flexible DSSCs are improved due to MTM having high surface area and acting as a light scattering center,respectively,resulting in the enhancement of photocurrent of flexible DSSCs.However,more and larger cracks having negative effect on the performances of flexible DSSCs are formed simultaneously.Under the optimal condition with MTM content of 20%,a flexible DSSC with overall light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 2.74%is achieved under a simulated solar light irradiation of 100 mW cm 2(AM 1.5),with 26%improvement in comparison with DSSCs based on P25 alone.
