Chankhunthod, N., Junploy, P. orcid.org/0000-0002-0820-3203, Suthirakun, S. et al. (10 more authors) (2023) Ecofriendly alkali metal cations diffusion improves fabrication of mixed-phase titania polymorphs on fixed substrate by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for photocatalytic degradation of azo dye. Environmental Research, 239 (Part 2). 117347. ISSN 0013-9351
Abstract
Controlling the nanoscale synthesis of semiconductor TiO2 on a fixed substrate has fascinated the curiosity of academics for decades. Synthesis development is required to give an easy-to-control technique and parameters for TiO2 manufacture, leading to advancements in prospective applications such as photocatalysts. This study, mixed-phase TiO2(B)/other titania thin films were synthesized on a fused quartz substrate utilizing a modified Chemical vapor depodition involving alkali-metal ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) solution pre-treatment. It was discovered that different cations promote dramatically varied phases and compositions of thin films. The films had a columnar structure with agglomerated irregular-shaped particles with a mean thickness of 800–2000 nm. Na+ ions can promote TiO2(B) more effectively than K+ ions, however Li+ ions cannot synthesize TiO2(B). The amounts of TiO2(B) in thin films increase with increasing alkali metal (K+ and Na+) concentration. According to experimental and DFT calculations, the hypothesized TiO2(B) production mechanism happened via the meta-stable intermediate alkaline titanate transformation caused by alkali-metal ion diffusion. The mixed phase of TiO2(B) and anatase TiO2 on the fixed substrate (1 × 1 cm2) obtained from Na+ pre-treated procedures showed significant photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue. K2Ti6O12, Li2TiO3, Rutile TiO2, and Brookite TiO2 phase formations produced by K+ and Li + pretreatment are low activity photocatalysts. Photocatalytic activities were more prevalent in NaOH pre-treated samples (59.1% dye degradation) than in LiOH and KOH pre-treated samples (49.6% and 34.2%, respectively). This revealed that our developed CVD might generate good photocatalytic thin films of mixed-phase TiO2(B)/anatase TiO2 on any substrate, accelerating progress in future applications.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Environmental Research made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Photocatalytic TiO2; Phase formation; Alkali metal cation; Titania/titanate thin films; Chemical vapor deposition; Dye degradation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) EP/J021156/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Nov 2023 16:24 |
Last Modified: | 10 Oct 2024 00:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117347 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:204998 |