Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) of 2.3 μm in height were produced by thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) on Si/SiO 2 substrates. These carbon arrays were coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) via atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Conformal, uniform and very thin films (max. 26 nm) around the CNTs were obtained after 200 ALD cycles. The photocatalytic performance of these nanocomposite materials was tested in the degradation of rhodamine B, a harmful dye present in food and textile wastewaters. The optimal degradation performance is already obtained after 100 ALD cycles on [a] I. the precursors' materials separated during their reaction. [8] The cycle is repeated until a desired film thickness is obtained, usually of a few dozens of nanometers. Thus, this technique ensures precise film thickness control and excellent material coverage, even on 3D structures. Due to their unique combination of properties, the functionalization of the CNTs by ALD with a metal oxide semiconductor aiming photocatalytic applications is a quite challenging and actual research topic. For instance, Feng et al. [9] used nanocomposite CNT membranes containing TiO 2 and ZnO deposited by ALD to improve the photocatalytic Inês E. Oliveira is a PhD student of Science and Materials Engineering at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Her research revolves mostly around the areas of carbon nanomaterials and photocatalysis. Currently, her doctoral research investigates the degradation of some organic pollutants from water using sunlight and carbon nanomaterials. She takes an approach that consists on the production of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and coating with metal oxides semiconductors via atomic layer deposition (ALD). . His work focuses on catalysis and catalysed reactions, with thermal and photo activation, for environmental applications, energy and fine chemical synthesis. Published over 180 articles (h index of 42, over 4 800 citations), acted as supervisor of 12 PhD students and 6 Post-Doctoral fellows, in addition to many MSc students.
Amorphous or anatase crystalline TiO2/VA-CNT nanocomposites were grown controlling the synthesis temperature. Photocatalytic degradation of RhB of 55% was achieved after 240 min. The immobilized material remains active after 4 cycles of use.
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