Erbia-modified electrospun titania nanofibres for selective infrared emitters

Abstract

Tetraisopropyl titanate (TPT) was mixed with a solution of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and the solution electrospun into nanofibres. Thermal annealing at 900 • C was used to pyrolyse the PVP, leaving nanofibres of rutile-phase titania. Erbium (III) oxide particles were also added into the solution before electrospinning, and selectively modified the near-infrared optical properties of the titania nanofibres as verified by both absorption and emission spectra. We thereby demonstrate the production of high-temperature optically functionalized nanostructures that can be used in a thermophotovoltaic energy conversion system.

Electrospinning jets and polymer nanofibers

“…An example is the conversion of abundant low temperature waste heat into electrical energy in a thermophotovoltaic system [66,67]. Erbium was added to a solution containing tetra-isopropyl titanate and polyvinylpyrrolidone.…”

Electrospun ceramic fibers: Composition, structure and the fate of precursors

“…The field of electrospinning has witnessed a recent upsurge in interest, particularly involving the production of metal oxide nanofibers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. There has been significant effort on titanium-containing materials systems in our laboratory [4,5,14,17] and others [2,7,16], as well as on fibers formed from aluminum [1,6,18] and zirconium [9,12] precursors.…”

“…There has been significant effort on titanium-containing materials systems in our laboratory [4,5,14,17] and others [2,7,16], as well as on fibers formed from aluminum [1,6,18] and zirconium [9,12] precursors. However, there are a wide variety of other ceramic nanofibers being produced in laboratories around the world, such as In 3 O 2 [3], WO 3 [8], CuO [10], NaCo 2 O 4 [11], BaTiO 3 [13] and SiO 2 [15], to name only a few.…”

Synthesis and characterization of erbia doped metal oxide nanofibers for applications in thermophotovoltaics

“…The effects of solution chemistry and electrospinning procedure have been investigated in some detail, and a recent review 1 summarizes much of this work on nanofibers. [4][5][6][7] Specifically, we are interested in low temperature ͑Ͻ1000°C͒ applications. For example, in a recent study on electrospun titania nanofibers, we found that silicon can be unintentionally introduced into the nanofibers as a result of the solution being in contact with silicone tubing used in the electrospinning apparatus.…”

“…4,5,7,10 The spectral feature around 6500 cm −1 is relevant for TPV applications which incorporate low band gap photocells ͑e.g., InGaAs or GaSb͒. 4,5,7,10 The spectral feature around 6500 cm −1 is relevant for TPV applications which incorporate low band gap photocells ͑e.g., InGaAs or GaSb͒.…”