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Organisationseinheit der BAM
Influence of agglomeration and aggregation on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles
(2017)
Particle aggregation and agglomeration influence the optical properties of materials and therefore theirability to absorb and scatter the incoming radiation, also affecting their photocatalytic activity. Wehave studied the correlation between aggregation and photocatalytic activity for titanium dioxide bymeans of experimental measurements of extinction and photocatalytic activity and calculations of theiroptical properties (extinction, absorption and scattering cross-sections). This approach can be adoptedto quantitatively assess the quantum yields of the heterogeneous photocatalytic systems. The study wasperformed on TiO2PC105 Cristal ACTiVTM, made of aggregated (and agglomerated) primary particles of anatase. The size of the aggregates has been reduced with ultra-sonication. Aqueous suspensions of the obtained materials were characterized by measuring the optical properties (UV–vis extinction), the sizing properties (DLS) and the photocatalytic activity (degradation of phenol under standard con-ditions). The extinction and absorption spectra of the suspensions were derived from the calculatedcoefficients, considering also the size distributions measured with DLS, and revealed that light absorptionis maximized when particle aggregation and agglomeration are avoided, while diffusion of the incomingradiation dominates when large aggregates and agglomerates are present. The present paper represents a valuable approach to the accurate and reproducible measurement of the photocatalytic activity ofTiO2nanoparticles suspensions, thus allowing a more reliable comparison of the properties of different materials.
Although the use of noble metal catalysts can increase the efficiency of hydrogen evolution reaction, the process is still limited by the characteristics of the metal-hydrogen (M−H) bond, which can be too strong or too weak, depending on the metal employed. Studies revealed that the hydrogen affinity for the metal surface (i.e. H absorption/desorption) is regulated also by the potential at the metal nanoparticles. Through controlled periodic illumination (CPI) of a series of metal/TiO2 suspensions, here we demonstrated that an increase of the HER efficiency is possible for those photodeposited metals which have a Tafel slope below 125 mV. Two possible explanations are here reported, in both of them the M−H interaction and the metal covering level play a prominent role, which also depend on the prevailing HER mechanism (Volmer-Heyrovsky or Volmer-Tafel).
In the present work a series of design rules are developed in order to tune the morphology of TiO2 nanoparticles through hydrothermal process. Through a careful experimental design, the influence of relevant process parameters on the synthesis outcome are studied, reaching to the develop predictive models by using Machine Learning methods. The models, after the validation and training, are able to predict with high accuracy the synthesis outcome in terms of nanoparticle size, polydispersity and aspect ratio. Furthermore, they are implemented by reverse engineering approach to do the inverse process, i.e. obtain the optimal synthesis parameters given a specific product characteristic. For the first time, it is presented a synthesis method that allows continuous and precise control of NPs morphology with the possibility to tune the aspect ratio over a large range from 1.4 (perfect truncated bipyramids) to 6 (elongated nanoparticles) and the length from 20 to 140 nm.
Understanding the correlation between the morphological and functional properties of particulate materials is crucial across all fields of physical and natural sciences. This manuscript reports on the investigation of the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) employed as a capping Agent in the synthesis of SrTiO3 crystals. The crucial influence of PEG on both the shape and size of the strontium titanate particles is revealed, highlighting the effect on the photocurrents measured under
UV–Vis irradiation.
Hydrogen production via formate photoreforming on TiO2 is characterized by marked dependence on the ratio between {101} and {001} surfaces for anatase nanoparticles. We observed higher rates of hydrogen Evolution with the increase of the {101} facets presence, owing to their reductive nature.
This helps the Pt photodeposition in the early stages of Irradiation and, then, the hydrogen ion reduction reaction. The selective photodeposition of 2 nm Pt nanoparticles on {101} facets was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs. The results are confirmed also by experiments carried out without the use of Pt as cocatalyst and by photoelectrochemical measurements.
The work also explains the marginal effect of the fluorination on the H2 evolution.