Titanium dioxide nanotubes gain considerable attention
as a photoactive material due to chemical stability, photocorrosion
resistance, or low-cost manufacturing method. This work presents scalable
pulsed laser modification of TiO2 nanotubes resulting in
enhanced photoactivity in a system equipped with a motorized table,
which allows for modifications of both precisely selected and any-large
sample area. Images obtained from scanning electron microscopy along
with Raman and UV–vis spectra of laser-treated samples in a
good agreement indicate the presence of additional laser-induced shallow
states within band gap via degradation of crystalline structure. However,
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra revealed no change of chemical
nature of the modified sample surface. Photoelectrochemical measurements
demonstrate superior photoresponse of laser-treated samples up to
1.45-fold for an energy beam fluence of 40 mJ/cm2 compared
to that of calcined one. According to the obtained results, optimal
processing parameters were captured. Mott–Schottky analysis
obtained from impedance measurements indicates an enormous (over an
order of magnitude) increase of donor density along with a +0.74 V
positive shift of flat band potential. Such changes in electronic
structure are most likely responsible for enhanced photoactivity.
Thus, the elaborated method of laser nanostructuring can be successfully
employed to the large-scale modification of titania nanotubes resulting
in their superior photoactivity. According to that, the results of
our work provide a contribution to wider applications of materials
based on titania nanotubes.
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