Formation of anodic zirconia nanotubes in fluorinated ethylene glycol electrolyte with K 2 CO 3 addition

Sunlight activated anodic freestanding ZrO2 nanotube arrays for Cr(VI) photoreduction

“…The mechanism of ZNTs formation in K 2 CO 3 added EG was elaborated in our previous report [15]. Basically, K 2 CO 3 weaken the adhesion at metal|oxide interface due to the generation of CO 2 gas [10,15] during the course of anodization process. This can be evident from vigorous gas evolution at the Zr anode during the anodization process and their traces observed on the foil [10].…”

“…Basically, K 2 CO 3 weaken the adhesion at metal|oxide interface due to the generation of CO 2 gas [10,15] during the course of anodization process. This can be evident from vigorous gas evolution at the Zr anode during the anodization process and their traces observed on the foil [10]. These observations were not obtained when K 2 CO 3 -free electrolyte was used [10].…”

“…Here, the first approach was adopted. The presence of K 2 CO 3 in EG was found to be beneficial in reducing the adhesion of the anodic film mainly due to CO 2 gas generation at the oxide|metal interface [10,15].…”

“…Zirconia (ZrO 2 ) is a n-type semiconductor with a band gap, E g ∼5-6 eV [8]. High negative value of the conduction band (CB) edge makes ZrO 2 as a suitable photocatalyst for water splitting [9,10], oxidation organic dyes [11,12], and reduction of inorganic contaminants [13][14][15][16]. Nevertheless, the wide band gap of ZrO 2 restricts its use under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation which accounts for less than 5% of the solar energy [17].…”

Electrochemical stability and cell response of nanostructures elaborated on zirconium

“…Despite the extensive use of ZrO 2 as a biomaterial, especially in dentistry and in research on nanotubes formation, according to our knowledge, the available literature on pure Zr is scarce and Zr anodizing and its coated alloys have still a relatively unknown behavior. Recently, the formation of anodic zirconia nanotubes in fluorinated ethylene glycol electrolyte with K 2 CO 3 addition was reported, trying to explain the effect of various amounts of K 2 CO 3 on the dimensions of elaborated nanotubes. This study showed that the use of K 2 CO 3 in the electrolyte as an oxidant instead of water may impede the dissolution of the formed oxide leading in our case to more compact layers.…”