Heterogeneous solvothermal synthesis of one‐dimensional titania nanostructures on transparent conductive glasses

Abstract

The present study reports a novel method for a direct growth of one‐dimensional (1D) TiO2 nanoarchitectures on fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass by a heterogeneous solvothermal route. Results indicate that the morphologies of the obtained samples can be controlled and changed from vertically oriented single‐crystalline rutile nanowire arrays to randomly disoriented nanotubular architectures by controlling the position of the substrate and the amount of the initial precursor. At a low concentration of the precursor, dandelion‐like TiO2 comprised of large amounts of the crystalline nanorods are found on the nonconductive surface of the horizontally oriented FTO glass, which are suitable for photocatalysis, while TiO2 nanowire arrays are grown on the conductive surface of the FTO glass, which can be used as photoanodes for sensitized solar cells to enhance the electron‐transport rate. The difference in morphology is probably related to the selective adsorption of the Cl ions, the texture of the substrate, and the immiscibility between the nonpolar solvent and the aqueous solution.

Improved performance in dye-sensitized solar cells by rationally tailoring anodic TiO2 nanotube length

“…It is known that electrons migrate in the photoanode in a way of diffusion; thus, crystallite boundaries between TiO 2 nanoparticles and the trap states on the particle surface would definitely serve as trap centers to retard electron transportation, and increase the chances of electron recombination with the excited dye molecules or the interpenetrating electrolyte. One solution to solve these problems is to employ highly ordered nanostructure arrays into DSSCs e.g., TiO 2 nanotube (TNT), TiO 2 nanorod, and ZnO nanowire arrays [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The employed onedimensional (1-D) nanostructure arrays act as direct percolation paths for electron transport so as to increase the electron collection efficiency, as compared to the twisted way supplied by interconnected nanoparticles.…”

Synthesis of silane functionalized sodium titanate nanotubes and their influence on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposite

“…Since this early period many other one-dimensional nanostructures were synthesized, such as MoS 2 , [3], MoSI [4], ZnO [5], and others [6]. The synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures is lately focused in a synthesis of dimensioncontrolled and/or aligned nanoparticles [7][8][9][10]. Sodium titanate nanotubes (NaTiNTs) and nanoribbons (NaTiNRs) are typically synthesized under hydrothermal conditions [11,12] with high yields from a TiO 2 precursor in alkaline medium.…”

Hydrogen producing water treatment through mesoporous TiO2 nanofibers with oriented nanocrystals

“…Various methods, such as sol-gel [18], hydrothermal [19], solvothermal [20] and electrospinning [21,22] methods have been well developed to synthesize tailor 1-D TiO2 nanostructures, whereas the hydrothermal-assisted method is the most widely employed one due to its simplicity and effectiveness. Typically, the hydrothermal-assisted method involves two main steps [14].…”