Sharif Digital Repository

Nanocrystalline and nanostructured TiO2-Cr2O3 thin films and powders were prepared by a facile and straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route at low temperature of 400°C. The prepared sols showed a narrow particle size distribution with hydrodynamic diameter in the range of 17.7 nm to 19.0 nm. Moreover, the sols were stable over 4 months, with constant zeta potential measured during this period. The effect of the Cr:Ti molar ratio on the crystallization behavior of the products was studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the powders crystallized at low temperature of 400°C, containing anatase-TiO2, rutile-TiO2, and Cr2O3 phases, depending on the annealing temperature... 

Nanostructured TiO2-Al2O3 films and powders were prepared by a straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route. Titanium (IV) isopropoxide and aluminum chloride were used as precursors, and hydroxypropyl cellulose was used as a polymeric fugitive agent in order to increase the porosity. The effect of Al:Ti molar ratio was studied on the crystallization behavior of the products. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the powders crystallized at 800°C, containing anatase-TiO2, rutile-TiO2 and cubic-Al2O3 phases. Furthermore, it was found that Al2O3 retarded the anatase to rutile transformation. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image showed that one of the smallest crystallite sizes was... 

Nanostructured TiO2-SnO2 thin films and powders were prepared by a facile aqueous particulate sol-gel route. The prepared sols showed a narrow particle size distribution with hydrodynamic diameter in the range 17.2-19.3 nm. Moreover, the sols were stable over 5 months, since the constant zeta potential was measured during this period. The effect of Sn:Ti molar ratio was studied on the crystallisation behaviour of the products. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the powders were crystallised at the low temperature of 400 °C containing anatase-TiO2, rutile-TiO2 and cassiterite-SnO2 phases, depending on annealing temperature and Sn:Ti molar ratio. Furthermore, it was found that SnO2... 

Polysulfone (PSU) and polyethersulfone (PES) porous membranes; and mixed polymer with nanoparticles TiO2, were prepared for air humidification. The mechanical properties and morphology of these membranes were studied by Tensile tester and SEM/EDX. The effects of membrane composition and operating factors on humidifier performance were investigated. The results revealed that the membrane composition and its structure have significant effect on humidification. The porous membranes with finger type cavities had higher humidification performance but lower mechanical properties. Water flux of the membranes was about 0.16-0.2L/hm2 at 25°C. Furthermore, adding 0.1wt% TiO2 nanoparticles to casting... 

TiO2 nanostructures with different morphologies (spherical, tube, leaf-like and flower-like particles) were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process. Polycaprolactone (PCL)/10 vol.% TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by solvent casting methods. In vitro bioactivity of the nanocomposite films was examined by immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to 28 days. It was found that the morphology of titania nanostructures significantly influence the in vitro bioactivity of PCL/TiO 2 nanocomposites. This observation was attributed to the amount of anatase phase and the specific surface area of the TiO2 nanostructures, which provide high surface exposure to SBF  

A quantum modeling of the CO adsorption on illuminated anatase TiO2 (0 0 1) is presented. The calculated adsorption energy and geometries of illuminated case are compared with the ground state case. The calculations were achieved by using DFT formalism and the BH and HLYP. Upon photoexcitation, an electron-hole pair is generated. Comparing of natural population in the ground state and the exited state, shows that an electron is trapped in a Ti4+ ion and a hole is localized in an oxygen ion. The photoelectron helps generation of a CO2 molecule on the TiO2 surface. As shown by optimization of these systems, the CO molecule adsorbed vertically on the TiO2 (0 0 1) surface in the ground state... 

A developed route to form TiO2 self cleaning coatings on polycarbonate substrates is reported. TiO2 coatings on plastics may find widespread application in auto and construction industries if possess desired photocatalytic and mechanical properties. A chemical surface treatment method was used to create hydrophilic groups on the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the treatment led to the oxidation of surface groups. TiO2 deposition was based on wet coating using an anatase sol of TiO2 nanoparticles of 30 nm size. The sol was synthesized using a sol-gel route. A pre-coat of peroxotitanium complex was employed to improve adhesion and inhibit the substrate degradation. The coating... 

A nano-composite material consisting of amine functionalized TiO 2-coated carbon nanotubes was prepared and used for glucose oxidase (GOx) absorption. The GOx bearing nanomaterial was fixed on a glassy carbon electrode to construct a novel biosensor for glucose determination. The direct electrochemistry of immobilized GOx and its electron transfer parameters at the modified glassy carbon electrode were reported. The apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (ks) of GOx was estimated to be 3.5 s-1, which is higher than those reported previously. Amperometric detection of glucose resulted in a rapid (3 s) and stable response in the linear concentration range from 1.8 to 266 μM.... 

A novel and efficacious strategy was implemented for creation of mesoporous TiO2 films and powder through an integration of sol-gel and evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) processes aided by triblock Pluronic P123. A mesoporous crack-free thin film with virtual thickness of 300 nm was attained under 10% relative humidity aging, for 72 h at the low temperature of 5 °C. Further, the TiO2 film with porous structure has been formed from conventional paste, exploiting as-prepared mesoporous titania powder. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) of synthesized mesoporous powder disclosed formation of anatase phase as well as rutile phase, in such a manner that the latter constituted a very small... 

Electrospun hybrid membranes were synthesized using electrospinning of Poly (vinylidenefluoride) - titanium tetraisopropoxide (PVDF-TTIP) sol. Asymmetric post-treatment of membrane conducted for deprotonation of titanate and making hydrophilic/hydrophobic dual characteristics. The membranes were characterized by various methods such as wettability, scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and liquid entry pressure tests. For evaluating the separation performance, these membranes were applied in the VMD process to treat water heavy metal contaminants. The effects of operating parameters such as flow rate, temperature and membrane properties as porosity, on... 

RGO/Ag/TiO2-nanotubes/Ti plates with high photocatalytic activity were fabricated via electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide on Ag/TiO2-nanotubes. The loading of silver nanoparticles was carried out by electroless reduction of Ag1+ onto TiO2 nanotubes previously formed by anodizing titanium. Microstructure studies show that reduced graphene oxide (RGO) layers having high surface area have been deposited on the as-prepared Ag/TiO2-nanotubes, where nanoparticles of Ag had grown on the walls of TiO2-nanotubes. The results of photocatalytic experiments demonstrate that the RGO/Ag/TiO2-nanotubes/Ti plate exhibits significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic... 

Herein, we report a double-layer photoanode electrode composed of TiO2 nanoparticles active layer and a mixture of nanoparticles and newly proposed skein-like nanotubes (NTs) top layer. Such structure performs well in solar light harvesting due to first, the top layer exhibits superior light scattering and second, the active layer with high dye-loading can make better use of the back-scattered light. The results reveal that 30-40 nm nanoparticles have anatase structure, whereas 5-7 μm skein-like NTs show a mixture of anatase and rutile phases. Photovoltaic measurements demonstrate that by tuning mass ratio between nanoparticles and skein-like NTs, the cells based on single-layer photoanode... 

TiO2 and transition metal (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by the sol-gel method using 2-hydroxylethylammonium formate as an ionic liquid. All the prepared samples were calcined at 500 °C and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area determination, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The studies revealed that transition metal (TM) doped nanoparticles have smaller crystalline size and higher surface area than pure TiO2. Dopant ions in the TiO2 structure caused significant absorption shift into the visible region. The results of... 

Despite the wide application ranges of TiO2, the precise explanation of the charge transport dynamic through a mixed crystal phase of this semiconductor has remained elusive. Here, in this research, mixed-phase TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) consisting of anatase and 0-15% rutile phases has been formed through various annealing processes and employed as a photoelectrode of a photovoltaic cell. Wide ranges of optoelectronic experiments have been employed to explore the band alignment position, as well as the depth and density of trap states in TNTAs. Short circuit potential, as well as open circuit potential measurements specified that the band alignment of more than 0.2 eV exists between the... 

In this study, Yittria Stabilized Zirconia/Titania powders synthesized via air plasma spray (APS) method such as morphology changes and phase transformations of core-shell structure characterized. Phase analysis of powders was performed by XRD. The crystallite size and lattice strain of YSZ/TiO2 core-shell structure was calculated by Williamson-Hall method. Morphology was observed with scanning electron microscope. EDS and map analysis were used for core-shell characterization. Results revealed that all TiO2 nano particles were melted around YSZ powders with the thickness between 1 up to 5 μm. After spraying the YSZ/TiO2 mixture in water, strain values increased but crystallite size... 

Humic acid (HA) constitutes a large portion of natural organic matter (NOM), and is the main precursor of toxic and cancerogenic Trihalomethanes compounds, formed during chlorination of drinking water. Therefore, it is essential that the humic acid be eliminated from water before treating it. The present study aims to investigate the photocatalytic degradation of humic acid (HA) using TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on perlite granules (TIP), irradiated by UV light in a photoreactor. Samples of coated perlites were prepared by a dip coating method using a commercial powder of TiO2. Characteristics of the prepared samples were evaluated by X-ray and scanning electron microscope techniques.... 

The sol-enhanced pulse plating (PP) technique was utilized to deposit the Ni-TiO2/TiO2 multilayers on copper substrates from a Watts bath containing a TiO2 sol, and the obtained coatings were heat treated at various temperatures. The characteristics of coatings were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-visible spectrophotometry. In order to estimate the wettability of these nanostructured multilayers after exposure to UV light, the contact angle of water droplets were measured, and the photocatalytic (PC) efficiency of the multilayers were analyzed by the degradation of methyl... 

Copper matrix composites reinforced with TiO2particles are promising materials widely used as contact materials due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties such as good electrical and thermal conductivity and strength at high temperature. In this research, the novel contact material were prepared by in-situ oxidation of Cu-Ti pre alloyed powders. The morphology of milled powders and microstructure of nano-composite specimens were studied by SEM and TEM. To evaluate mechanical alloying progress of Cu and Ti powders mixture and internal oxidation after Cu2O addition, XRD analysis were carried out. The Physical and mechanical properties results of specimens indicate that the... 

The main purpose of this research work is to investigate the effect of nickel as metal dopant on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanotube arrays synthesized in the organic electrolyte by anodizing process containing sodium carbonate as an additive (TNAS). In order to characterize the synthesized nanotubes, various analyses such as FESEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, DRS, and EIS were applied. The results of XPS and FTIR tests evaluate the participation of sodium (Na), nickel (Ni), and carbon (C) in the lattice of nanotubes as dopants. According to the DRS and UV-visible tests results, the band gap energy of TiO2 nanotube arrays decreases from 3.20 to ~ 2.64 eV as well as the absorption... 

Abstract: Here, the synthesis of TiO2 rutile nanorod arrays (TiO2 NRs) decorated with bimetallic gold–palladium cocatalyst nanoparticles (AuPd NPs) is described. The modified photoelectrode was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). AuPd–TiO2 NRs (AuPd–TiO2) demonstrate high photocatalytic activity for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The tailored structure of AuPd–TiO2 depicts a boosted photocurrent of 3.36 mA cm−2 under AM 1.5 illumination...