Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Properties of Ti3+ Self-Doped Branched TiO₂ Nanorod Arrays with Visible Light Absorption

Jingyang Wang; Xiantao Wang; Jun Yan; Qi Tan; Guijie Liang; Shaohua Qu; Zhicheng Zhong

doi:10.3390/ma11101791

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Properties of Ti³⁺ Self-Doped Branched TiO₂ Nanorod Arrays with Visible Light Absorption

Materials (Basel). 2018 Sep 20;11(10):1791. doi: 10.3390/ma11101791.

Authors

Jingyang Wang¹, Xiantao Wang², Jun Yan³, Qi Tan⁴, Guijie Liang⁵, Shaohua Qu⁶, Zhicheng Zhong⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. wangjingyang@hbuas.edu.cn.
² School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. 1502060441@gmail.com.
³ School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. 18827551096yj@gmail.com.
⁴ School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. tanqi9504@gmail.com.
⁵ Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. liangguijie@hbuas.edu.cn.
⁶ School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. qushaohua@hbuas.edu.cn.
⁷ Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441053, China. zhongzhicheng@hbuas.edu.cn.

Abstract

A novel Ti³⁺ self-doped branched rutile TiO₂ nanorod arrays (NRAs) was successfully grown on an F-doped tin oxide (FTO) transparent conductive glass by a combined hydrothermal and magnetron sputtering method. Surface morphology, structure, optical properties, and photoelectrochemical behavior of the branched TiO₂ NRAs are determined. Using TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) deposited on the top of the nanorods as seeds, TiO₂ nanobranches can easily grow on the top of the nanorods. Moreover, the Ti³⁺ defects in the TiO₂ NPs and associated oxygen vacancies, and the nanobranches expend the optical absorption edge of the TiO₂ NRAs from 400 nm to 510 nm. Branched TiO₂ NRAs exhibit excellent photoelectrochemical properties compared to the pure TiO₂ NRAs, as revealed by photoelectrochemical measurements. This enhanced photoelectrochemical properties is induced by the increased surface area and expanded optical absorption range. Due to their favorable characteristics, these novel branched TiO₂ NRAs will provide a new path to the fabrication of hierarchical nanostructured materials.

Keywords: Ti3+ self-doped; branched TiO2 nanorod arrays; hydrothermal; magnetron sputtering; photoelectrochemical properties.

Abstract

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