直流/射頻濺鍍系統沉積含錫/鈮摻雜之二氧化鈦薄膜微結構與特性分析

Characterization of niobium-doped titania epitaxial films deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

This study proved the significance of simulated sunlight irradiation response capability of Sn-F co-doped TiO2/SiO2 (Sn-F-TiO2/SiO2) photocatalysts, which were prepared by a simple sol-gel method and were evaluated by acrylonitrile degradation for photocatalytic activity. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Ultraviolet-Visible Absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy (PL). UV-Visible spectroscopy demonstrated that Sn doping caused remarkable red shift in TiO2, which significantly increased the absorption efficiency of the catalysts. The XPS results showed that Sn was successfully doped into the TiO2 lattice. The photocatalytic degradation of acrylonitrile indicated that the Sn-F-TiO2/SiO2 photocatalysts exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity when being annealed at 550 ℃ for 2 h. The degradation rate of acrylonitrile reached 67.7% after irradiation under simulated sunlight for 6 min, and the hole was the most important active species.

In this study, preparation of Sn doped (0–30 mol % Sn) TiO2 dip-coated thin films on glazed porcelain substrates via sol–gel process have been investigated. The effects of Sn content on the structural, optical, and photo-catalytic properties of applied thin films have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission SEM (FE-SEM), and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Surface topography and surface chemical state of thin films were examined by atomic force microscope (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD patterns showed an increase in peak intensities of the rutile crystalline phase by increasing the Sn dopant. The prepared Sn-doped TiO2 photo-catalyst films showed optical absorption edge in the visible light area and exhibited excellent photo-catalytic ability for degradation of methylene blue solution under UV irradiation. The result shows that doping an appropriate amount of Sn can effectively improve the photo-catalytic activity of TiO2 thin films, and the optimum dopant amount is found to be 15 mol%. The Sn4+ dopants substituted Ti4+ in the lattice of TiO2 and increased surface oxygen vacancies and the surface hydroxyl groups. TEM results showed small increase in planar spacing (was detected by HR-TEM caused by Sn dopants in titania based crystals).

Study of rectifying properties and true Ohmic contact on Sn doped V2O5 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis method

Thermal conductivity of undoped and Sn-doped β-Ga₂O₃ bulk and single-crystalline thin films have been measured by the 3ω technique. The bulk samples were grown by edge-defined film-field growth (EFG) method, while the thin films were grown on c-plane sapphire by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD). All samples were with (-201) surface orientation. Thermal conductivity of bulk samples was calculated along the in-plane and cross-plane crystallographic directions, yielding a maximum value of ~ 29 W/m-K in the [010] direction at room temperature. A slight thermal conductivity decrease was observed in the Sn-doped bulk samples, which was attributed to enhanced phonon-impurity scattering. The differential 3ω method was used for β-Ga₂O₃ thin film samples due to the small film thickness. Results show that both undoped and Sndoped films have a much lower thermal conductivity than that of the bulk samples, which is consistent with previous reports in the literature showing a linear relationship between thermal conductivity and film thickness. Similarly to bulk samples, Sn-doped thin films have exhibited a thermal conductivity decrease. However, this decrease was found to be much greater in thin film samples, and increased with Sn doping concentration. A correlation between thermal conductivity and defect/dislocation density was made for the undoped thin films.

Transparent conducting thin films of undoped and Sn-doped zinc oxide films were prepared on glass substrate by a dip-coating method using an acidic sol. The effect of metal sources, zinc chloride and zinc acetate dihydrate , on the crystalline structure and properties of the films was investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the acidic sol leads to ZnO crystals with a hexagonal wurtzite structure after annealing treatment. Transmission electron microscopy results evidence that the Sn-doped ZnO thin films are a mixed phase of wurtzite ZnO and tetragonal nanocrystals. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy shows that the morphology of the films is largely affected by the zinc metal sources, and optical and electrical properties of the films are closely related to their microstructure. The undoped films prepared with the zinc chloride source exhibit a lower transmittance in the visible wavelength between 600 and , compared with that using the zinc acetate dihydrate source. The electrical resistivity of the undoped films is high but can be reduced by a Sn doping treatment. The optimum electrical resistivity of the Sn-doped films can reach to about .

CuI is one of the promising hole transport materials for perovskite solar cells. However, its tendency to form defects is currently limiting its use for device applications. Here, we report the successful improvement of CuI through Sn doping and the direct measurement of the carrier relaxation and interfacial charge-transfer processes in Sn-doped CuI films and their heterostructures. Femtosecond-transient absorption (fs-TA) measurements reveal that Sn doping effectively passivates the trap states within the bandgap of CuI. The I-V characteristics of heterostructures demonstrate drastic improvement in transport characteristics upon Sn doping. Fs-TA measurements further confirm that the CuSnI/ZnO heterojunction has a type-II configuration with ultrafast charge transfer (<280 fs). The charge transfer time of a CuI/ZnO heterostructure is ∼2.8 times slower than that of the CuSnI/ZnO heterostructure, indicating that Sn doping suppresses the interfacial states that retard the charge transfer. These results elucidate the effect of Sn doping on the performance of CuI-based heterostructures.

TiO 2 /TiOF 2 nanohybrids were quickly synthesized through a hydrothermal process using titanium n-butoxide (TBOT), ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH) and hydrofluoric acid as precursors. The prepared nanohybrids underwent additional NaOH treatment (OH-TiO 2 /TiOF 2 ) to enhance their photocatalytic performance. The mechanism of NaOH affecting the pathway of transformation from TBOT (Ti precursor) to TiO 2 nanosheets was discussed. The synthesized TiO 2 /TiOF 2 and OH-TiO 2 /TiOF 2 were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), Fourier infrared spectroscopic analysis (FT-IR), Photoluminescence emission spectra and UV–visible diffuse reflection spectra (UV–vis DRS). The photocatalytic activity and stability of synthesized samples were evaluated by degradation of methylene blue (MB) under the simulated solar light. The results showed that a larger ratio of TiO 2 to TiOF 2 in TiO 2 /TiOF 2 and OH-TiO 2 /TiOF 2 nanohybrids could allow for even higher MB conversion compared with only TiO 2 nanosheets. NaOH treatment can wash off the F ions from TiOF 2 and induce this larger ratio. The highest efficiency of MB removal was just above 90% in 1 h. Lower electron–hole pairs recombination rate is the dominant factor that induces the photocatalytic performance enhancement of TiO 2 /TiOF 2 nanohybrids. The synthesized OH-TiO 2 /TiOF 2 nanohybrids exhibit great potential in the abatement of organic pollutants.

A titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin film is proposed as the active layer for the detection of oxygen gas. The sensor is fabricated on silicon wafer using sol-gel dip coating technique with a constant withdrawal speed. The field emission scanning electron microscope image reveals that the film has a uniform structure while the x-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the film is anatase phase with tetragonal lattice structure. The film exhibit the highest intensity peak at (101) plane. The surface roughness measurement shows that the film has low surface roughness with small grain size. The electrical studies revealed that the resistivity is about 4.02 x 10-3 Ω.cm and the thickness of TiO2 film is 127.44 nm. The gas sensor measurement showed that the sensor response of the film is about 4.21% at room temperature.

In this paper, TiO2 films were coated on the surface of diamond particles using a sol–gel method. The effects of heat treatment temperature on the morphology, composition, chemical bonds, oxidation resistance and compressive strength of diamond particles coated with TiO2 films were characterized through scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric–differential scanning calorimetry and compressive strength test. The results showed that when the temperature reached 600°C, the amorphous TiO2 on the diamond particles surface exhibited as a dense anatase film and the Ti–O–C bond formed between TiO2 and the diamond substrates. When temperature reached 800°C, TiO2 films were still in anatase phase and part of the diamond carbon began to graphitize. The graphitizated carbon can also form the Ti–O–C bond with TiO2 film, although TiO2 film would tend to crack in this condition. Meanwhile, the temperature had a serious influence on the oxidation resistance of diamond particles coated with TiO2 films in air. When the heat treatment temperature reached 600°C, the initial oxidation temperature of the coated diamond particles reached the maximum value of 754°C. When the diamond particles were oxidized at 800°C for 0.5 h in air, the weight loss rate reached the minimum value of 6.7 wt% and the compressive strength reached the maximum value of 15.7 N.

One of the most important challenges for our society is providing powerful devices for renewable energy production. Many technologies based on renewable energy sources have been developed, which represent a clean energy sources that have a much lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies. Nowadays, many researches focus their attention on the development of renewable energy from solar, water, organic matter and biomass, which represent abundant and renewable energy sources. This research is mainly focused on the development of promising electrode materials and their potential application on emerging technologies such as artificial photosynthesis and microbial fuel cell (MFC). According to desired proprieties of functional materials, this research was focused on two main materials: (1) TiO2 for the development of electrodes for the water splitting reaction due to its demonstrated application potential as photocatalyst material and (2) carbon-based materials for the development of electrodes for MFC. In the first part of the investigation, different TiO2 nanostructures have been studied including: synthesis, characterization and test of TiO2-based materials with the aim of improving the limiting factors of the photocatalytic reaction: charge recombination and separation/migration processes. The photo-catalytic properties of different TiO2 nanostructures were evaluated including: TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) film, TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) and ZnO@TiO2 core-shell structures. Photo-electrochemical activity measurements and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis showed an improvement in charge collection efficiency of 1D-nanostructures, related to a more efficient electron transport in the materials. The efficient application of both the TiO2 NTs and the ZnO@TiO2 core-shell photoanodes opens important perspectives, not only in the water splitting application field, but also for other photo-catalytic applications (e.g. photovoltaic cells, degradation of organic substances), due to their chemical stability, easiness of preparation and improved transport properties. Additionally, in order to improve the photo-catalytic activity of TiO2 NPs, PANI/TiO2 composite film was synthesized. PANI/TiO2 composite film was successfully applied as anode material for the PEC water splitting reaction showing a significant increase in the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 NPs composite film essentially attributed to the efficient separation of the generated electron and hole pairs. To date, no cost-effective materials system satisfies all of the technical requirements for practical hydrogen production under zero-bias conditions. For this propose, to promote the sustainability of the process, the bias require to conduct PEC water splitting reaction could be powered by MFC systems in which many efforts have been done to improve power and electricity generation as is explained below. In this work, different strategies were also applied in order to improve the performance of anode materials for MFCs. The investigation of commercial carbon-based materials demonstrated that these materials, normally used for other ends are suitable electrodes for MFC and their use could reduce MFC costs and improve the energy sustainability of the process. In addition, to enhance power generation in MFC by using low-cost and commercial carbon-based materials, nitric acid activation (C-HNO3) and PANI deposition (C-PANI) were performed on commercial carbon felt (C-FELT) in order to increase the performance of MFC. Electrochemical determinations performed in batch-mode MFC reveled a strong reduction of the activation losses contribution and an important decrease of the internal resistance of the cell using C-HNO3 and C-PANI of about 2.3 and 4.4 times, respectively, with respect to C-FELT. Additionally, with the aim of solvent different MFC operational problems such as: biofouling, low surface area and large-scale MFC, an innovative three-dimensional material effectively developed and used as anode electrode. The conductive carbon-coated Berl saddles (C-SADDLES) were successfully used as anode electrode in batch-mode MFC. Electrochemical results suggested that C-SADDLES offer a low-cost solution to satisfy either electrical or bioreactor requirements, increasing the reliability of the MFC processes, and seems to be a valid candidate for scaled-up systems and for continuous mode application of MFC technology. In addition, the electrochemical performance and continuous energy production of the most promising materials obtained during this work were evaluated under continuous operation MFC in a long-term evaluation test. Remarkable results were obtained for continuous MFCs systems operated with three different anode materials: C-FELT, C-PANI and C-SADDLES. From polarization curves, the maximum power generation was obtained using C-SADDLES (102 mW•m-2) with respect to C-FELT (93 mW•m-2) and C-PANI (65 mW•m-2) after three months of operation. The highest amount of electrical energy was produced by C-PANI (1803 J) with respect to C-FELT (1664 J) and C-SADDLES (1674 J). However, it is worth to note that PANI activity was reduced during time by the operating conditions inside the anode chamber. In order to demonstrate the wide application potential MFC, this work reports on merging heterogeneous contributions and combining the advantages from three separate fields in a system which enables the ultra-low-power monitoring of a microbial fuel cell voltage status and enables pressure monitoring features of the internal conditions of a cell. The solution is conceived to provide an efficient energy source, harvesting wastewater, integrating energy management and health monitoring capabilities to sensor nodes which are not connected to the energy grid. Finally, this work presented a general concept of the integration of both devices into a hybrid device by interfacing PEC and MFC devices (denoted as PEC-MFC), which is proposed to generate electricity and hydrogen using as external bias the potential produce by microbial fuel cell

In this paper, the nanostructured Sn-doped ZnO thin films were prepared by Spin coating technique on glass substrates at various Sn doping of 0, 1, 1.5, 1, 2.0 and 3 at.%. The structural, optical and electrical properties were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis-NIR and I-V measurement, respectively. The surface morphology reveals that the average particle size of nanostructured Sn-doped ZnO thin films decreased as the Sn concentrations increased. The results show all films are transparent in the visible region with average transmittance above 88%. Meanwhile, the resistivity of Sn-soped ZnO thin films was decreased when the Sn concentrations increased. Among all of Sn-doped ZnO thin films, the thin films doped with 2 at.% shows the optimum properties of average resistivity and transmittance were 7.7 x 102 Ω.Cm and 96%, respectively.

Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical reduction route. The room temperature XRD pattern and micro-Raman spectra confirmed the formation of pure anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles. The Scanning electron micrograph revealed the formation of spherical shaped TiO2 nanoparticles. The crystallite size was estimated as 16nm and 12nm using Phonon confinement model (PCM) and Debye Scherrer formula, respectively. A facile method has been proposed for the preparation of TiO2 paste to obtain crack-free film. The TiO2 film was coated on ITO substrate by doctor blade technique and the film was sensitized with different natural dyes. The absorption properties of the dyes and dye anchored TiO2 films were analyzed by diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The dye sensitized solar cells were fabricated and the photovoltaic performance of the natural dyes sensitized solar cells was studied.

Al2O3-supported Co3O4 nanosystems were grown by a Chemical Vapor Deposition route under O2 + H2O atmospheres at 500 degrees C. Subsequently, the preparation of Au/Co3O4 composites was attained by Radio Frequency-Sputtering of gold onto the previous Co3O4 nanodeposits. Important data on the system structure, morphology and chemical composition were obtained by the combined use of complementary techniques, namely Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction, Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry. Finally, the gas sensing properties of the synthesized systems were probed in the detection of ethanol and hydrogen. The obtained results revealed significant responses already at moderate temperatures, which could be further enhanced by Co3O4 functionalization with Au nanoparticles.

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films, with and without silver (Ag), were prepared on float glass via sol–gel processing. The float glass substrates were pre-coated with a silica-barrier layer prior to the deposition of TiO2-based thin films. Silver nanoparticle incorporation into the TiO2 matrix was achieved by thermal reduction of Ag ions dissolved in a titanium-n-butoxide (Ti[O(CH2)3CH3]4) based sol during calcination in air at 250, 450 and 650 °C. Thin films were characterized using glancing incidence X-ray diffraction, UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The effects of Ag concentration and calcination temperature on microstructure and on chemical and physical properties of the thin films have been reported. The size and chemical state of Ag particles, as well as the phase characteristics of the titania matrix were strongly influenced by Ag concentration and calcination temperature. Results from this study can be utilized in both processing and structure-functional property optimization of sol–gel based Ag-TiO2 thin films by aqueous routes.