TEM analysis of photocatalytic TiO2 thin films deposited on polymer substrates by low-temperature ICP-PECVD

Low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma deposition of TiO2-based nanocomposite coatings on open-cell polymer foams for photocatalytic water treatment

“…Interestingly, photocatalyst immobilization not only facilitates the separation and recovery of the catalyst from the treated solution, but can also enable the operation of continuous-flow photocatalytic reactors [2,[4][5][6][7][8]. Therefore, numerous studies have been focused, for instance, on the deposition of TiO 2 -based thin films [6][7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] (e.g., TiO 2 thin films and TiO 2 -containing nanocomposite coatings) on many different immobilization supports, which include both inorganic and polymeric materials (e.g., glass, silica, carbon black, ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers) in various forms, such as plates, beads, granules, fibers, fabrics, membranes, foams, scaffolds, etc. [5,6,16,17,[20][21][22].…”

“…Therefore, numerous studies have been focused, for instance, on the deposition of TiO 2 -based thin films [6][7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] (e.g., TiO 2 thin films and TiO 2 -containing nanocomposite coatings) on many different immobilization supports, which include both inorganic and polymeric materials (e.g., glass, silica, carbon black, ceramics, natural and synthetic polymers) in various forms, such as plates, beads, granules, fibers, fabrics, membranes, foams, scaffolds, etc. [5,6,16,17,[20][21][22]. Among others, three-dimensional (3D) macroporous supports (average pore size ranging from 50 nm to a few millimeters) have gained attention because they enable the development of photocatalytic materials with high active surface area per unit of photoreactor volume and low flow resistance [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

Unveiling a critical thickness in photocatalytic TiO2 thin films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using real time in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry

“…This feature is coherent with the gradual crystallization of anatase along the growth direction previously evidenced by SAED. (26) Preferential orientation similar to the CW films is observed, with crystallographic planes (200) and ( 211) being favored at the highest thickness (f200 = 0.25 and f211 = 0.24) while (101) appears as hindered with negative f101. It is thus clear that thickness plays a key role for the apparition of anatase in Pulsed-PECVD.…”

“…(25) Moreover, pulsing the plasma discharge (frequency of 1 kHz and duty cycle of 50%) was found to decrease the temperature down to 80°C while maintaining anatase formation at the surface of the film. (26) With this technique, photocatalytic TiO2 has been deposited on PET/ITO (PET film with a 50 nm thin film of Tin doped Indium Oxide) and Polystyrene (PS) substrates. Pulsed discharge PECVD (Pulsed-PECVD) thus appears as a very promising process for producing flexible, easy to manipulate photocatalytic films.…”

Conversion of spent coffee grounds to biochar as promising TiO2 support for effective degradation of diclofenac in water

“…[ 9–11 ] However, one of the main limitations for its use is related to the great difficulty in removing it from the solution after the reaction, as it is a nanometer‐size powder, insoluble, and easily dispersible in aqueous medium. [ 8,12 ] In order to circumvent this inconvenience, recent studies are using supports for TiO 2 , such as glass, [ 13–16 ] polymers, [ 12,17,18 ] paper, [ 19–21 ] and ceramic and clay. [ 22–24 ]…”