In this work, the
photocatalytic performance enhancement of hydrothermally
prepared TiO2 was achieved by facile vacuum annealing treatment.
Calcination of TiO2 powder in air (CA-TiO2)
maintained its white color, while gray powder
was obtained when the annealing was performed under vacuum (CV-TiO2). Fourier transform infrared, total organic carbon, X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance analyses
proved that vacuum annealing transformed ethanol adsorbed on the surface
of TiO2 into carbon-related species accompanied by the
formation of surface oxygen vacancies (Vo). The residual carbon-related
species on the surface of CV-TiO2 favored its adsorption
of organic dyes. Compared with TiO2 and CA-TiO2, CV-TiO2 exhibited an improved charge carrier separation
with surface Vo as trapping sites for electrons. Vacuum annealing-induced
improvement of crystallinity, enhancement of adsorption capacity,
and formation of surface Vo contributed to the excellent photocatalytic
activity of CV-TiO2, which was superior to that of commercial
TiO2 (P25, Degussa). Obviously, vacuum annealing-triggered
decomposition of ethanol played an important role in the modification
of TiO2. In the presence of ethanol, vacuum annealing was
also suitable for the introduction of Vo into P25. Therefore, the
current work offers an easy approach for the modification of TiO2 to enhance its photocatalytic performance by facile vacuum
annealing in the presence of ethanol.
The double network (DN) hydrogel has attracted great attention due to its wide applications in daily life. However, synthesis DN hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties is still a big challenge. Here, polyacrylamide/copper‐alginate double network (PAM/Cu‐alg DN) hydrogel electrolyte is successfully synthesized by radiation‐induced polymerization and cross‐linking process of acrylamide with N, N’‐methylene‐bis‐acrylamide and subsequent cupric ion (Cu2+) crosslinking of alginate. The content of sodium alginate, absorbed dose, and the concentration of Cu2+ are investigated in detail for improving the overall properties of PAM/Cu‐alg DN hydrogel electrolyte. The PAM/Cu‐alg DN hydrogel electrolyte synthesizes by radiation technique and Cu2+ crosslinking shows superior mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 2.25 ± 0.02 MPa, excellent energy dissipation mechanism, and the high ionic conductivity of 4.08 ± 0.17 mS cm−1. PAM/Cu‐alg DN hydrogel is characterized with attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses and the reason for the improvement of mechanical properties is illustrated. Furthermore, PAM/Cu‐alg DN hydrogel electrolyte exhibits excellent strain‐sensitivity, cyclic stability, and durability. This work paves for the new way for the preparation of DN hydrogel electrolytes with excellent properties.
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