Carbon Nanostructures Decorated with Titania: Morphological Control and Applications

Abstract

Nanostructured titania (TiO2) is the most widely applied semiconducting oxide for a variety of purposes, and it is found in many commercial products. The vast majority of uses rely on its photo-activity, which, upon light irradiation, results in excited states that can be used for diverse applications. These range from catalysis, especially for energy or environmental remediation, to medicine—in particular, to attain antimicrobial surfaces and coatings for titanium implants. Clearly, the properties of titania are enhanced when working at the nanoscale, thanks to the increasingly active surface area. Nanomorphology plays a key role in the determination of the materials’ final properties. In particular, the nucleation and growth of nanosized titania onto carbon nanostructures as a support is a hot topic of investigation, as the nanocarbons not only provide structural stability but also display the ability of electronic communication with the titania, leading to enhanced photoelectronic properties of the final materials. In this concise review, we present the latest progress pertinent to the use of nanocarbons as templates to tailor nanostructured titania, and we briefly review the most promising applications and future trends of this field.

Recent Advancements in the Synthetic Mechanism and Surface Engineering of Transition Metal Selenides for Energy Storage and Conversion Applications

“…Significantly, the formation of metal-carbon interactions boosts the electrocatalyst's integrity and lengthens its lifespan. [110][111][112]…”

Growth, Properties, and Applications of Branched Carbon Nanostructures

“…CNSs have been widely studied in electrocatalysis, usually in combination with other components, such as metals [55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] and oxides [65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] or both [73][74][75][76][77], to attain enhanced performance [78], but also in metal-free electrocatalysis [79] for more sustainable solutions [80]. Branched CNSs are promising materials to use with various electrocatalysts for cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [81][82][83][84][85][86], oxygen evolution reaction (OER) [81,84,87,88], and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [89][90][91][92].…”

Photoelectrochemical Activity of TiO₂/MWCNT Thin-Film Electrodes with Different Film Structures Prepared by Combining Electrophoretic Deposition and Sol–Gel Method

“…1 TiO 2 thin-film electrodes have been investigated for various industrial applications, including battery anodes, solar cell photoanodes, chemical sensors, and photocatalysis. 2,3 Photocatalysts assist in a specific chemical reaction by absorbing light. TiO 2 , as a photocatalyst, uses the strong reduction/oxidation power of electrons and holes generated by ultraviolet light.…”

“…Various structures/morphologies 2,3,6,7 and chemical compositions 1,7 have been investigated to improve the photoelectrochemical activity of TiO 2 by changing light adsorption and charge separation properties. Recently, composites of TiO 2 and metals 8,9 as well as nanocarbons 3,[10][11][12][13] with high electron conductivities have been synthesized to suppress electron-hole recombination by promoting electron transfer.…”

“…15,16 The photoelectrochemical activities of such electrodes have been investigated for the organic decomposition of methylene blue, 15 methyl orange, 16 rhodamine B (RhB) as well as water splitting to generate green hydrogen 10 and CO 2 reduction. 17 omposite thin-film electrodes have been fabricated using various techniques 3,18 such as sol-gel, atomic layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and hydrothermal methods. The sol-gel method is frequently used owing to its low manufacturing cost and simplicity.…”