Visually black, electrically
leaky, amorphous titania (am-TiO
2
) thin films were grown
by atomic layer deposition (ALD) for
photocatalytic applications. Broad spectral absorbance in the visible
range and exceptional conductivity are attributed to trapped Ti
3+
in the film. Oxidation of Ti
3+
upon heat treatment
leads to a drop in conductivity, a color change from black to white,
and crystallization of am-TiO
2
. ALD-grown black TiO
2
, without any heat treatment, is subject to dissolution in
alkaline photoelectrochemical conditions. The best photocatalytic
activity for solar water splitting is obtained for completely crystalline
white TiO
2
.
A versatile generic framework for parent grain reconstruction from fully or partially transformed child microstructures has been integrated into the open-source crystallographic toolbox MTEX. The framework extends traditional parent grain reconstruction, phase transformation and variant analysis to all parent–child crystal symmetry combinations. The inherent versatility of the universally applicable parent grain reconstruction methods and the ability to conduct in-depth variant analysis are showcased via example workflows that can be programmatically modified by users to suit their specific applications. This is highlighted by three applications, namely α′-to-γ reconstruction in a lath martensitic steel, α-to-β reconstruction in a Ti alloy, and a two-step reconstruction from α′ to ɛ to γ in a twinning and transformation-induced plasticity steel. Advanced orientation relationship discovery and analysis options, including variant analysis, are demonstrated via the add-on function library ORTools.
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