Synthesis Temperature Dependent Morphological Evolution in Zinc Titanate Heteronanostructures and Their Application in Environmental Remediation

Abstract

The synthesis of Zn-Ti glycolates at different temperatures (RT to 200 8C) with different morphologies which convert to zinc titanate heteronanostructures after calcination (500/700 8C) has been reported. The effect of synthesis temperature on morphology, optical properties and photocatalytic activity of the heteronanostructures has been investigated. X-ray diffraction studies indicate that after calcination, cubic ZnTiO 3 is formed from the Zn-Ti glycolates synthesized at lower temperatures ( 100 8C) while Zn 2 TiO 4 is formed at higher temperatures (> 100 8C). Electron microscopy studies show that the Zn-Ti glycolates synthesized at lower temperatures ( 100 8C) and the corresponding zinc titanates exhibit rod-like morphology. The Zn-Ti glycolate synthesized at 150 8C and the corresponding zinc titanate possess mixture of rod and spherical morphology. The Zn-Ti glycolates synthesized at 180 and 200 8C and the zinc titanates exhibit spherical morphology. The rods and spheres were found to be formed in turn by assembly of nanoparticles. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopic studies show that the band gap of zinc titanates (3.2 eV to 3.75 eV) depends on synthesis temperature of Zn-Ti glycolates and also the calcination temperature. The zinc titanate heteronanostructures were explored as catalysts for the photodegradation of rhodamine B and crystal violet in aqueous solutions in the presence of sunlight and the zinc titanate spheres exhibit the best catalytic activity.

Fabrication of conifer-like TiSnO2 nanorods for sensing H2S gas at room temperature

“…The EG molecules, with their two hydroxyl groups, act as linkers, facilitating the formation of a one-dimensional structure. [51][52][53][54] During the polyol process, PDDA molecules wrap the surfaces of the linelike Sn-Ti-glycolates in the early stages of heating, acting as a protective template and stabilizing them within a shell-like structure. This induces the growth of Sn-Ti-glycolates along the long chain through subsequent calcination, leading to the formation of SnTiO 2 nanorods.…”

Interface Engineering of Cubic Zinc Metatitanate as an Excellent Electron Transport Material for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Given that the Fermi level is very close to the conduction band (CB) for n‐type semiconductors, the CB of ZTO was estimated to be about −4.1 eV, an appropriate energy level of ETL for PSCs . The valence band (VB) of ZTO was also obtained to be −7.7 eV by calculation according to the reported bandgap of 3.6 eV . The energy‐level alignment of ZTO‐based PSC is shown in Figure d.…”

“…[16] The valence band (VB) of ZTO was also obtained to be À7.7 eV by calculation according to the reported bandgap of 3.6 eV. [17] The energy-level alignment of ZTO-based PSC is shown in Figure 3d. In addition, the transmission spectra of ZTO and TiO 2 ETL with the same thickness were measured by deducting the background of the FTO substrate ( Figure S13, Supporting Information).…”

Preparation and NH3 Gas-Sensing Properties of Double-Shelled Hollow ZnTiO3 Microrods

“…EG is well known to serve as a complexing agent in the formation of Zn-glycolate and Ti-glycolate from Zn 2+ and Ti 4+ ions (path (1)) [34], respectively. The Zn-glycolate was then intercalated with Ti-glycolate, forming chain-like Zn-Ti-glycolates, similar to those described elsewhere [34][35][36]. Then (path (2)), during the sol-gel process, PDDA was adsorbed on the surface of these chain-like Zn-Ti-glycolates by electrostatic attraction at a high temperature, forming hollow PDDA-Zn-Ti-glycolates rods as a precursor.…”