Towards sustainable TiO₂ photoelectrodes based on cellulose nanocrystals as a processing adjuvant

Abstract

Photoelectrodes of TiO2 in the form of films are commonly fabricated using screen printing techniques, employing viscous commercial TiO2 pastes. However, these pastes comprise environmentally unfriendly, multicomponent formulations designed to...

Nanocellulose: The Ultimate Green Aqueous Dispersant for Nanomaterials

“…Nevertheless, the former two examples still seem not to exploit the full potential of the ability of cellulose nanomaterials for NPs dispersion and stabilization, since different chemical modifications and/or adjuvants are eventually required. Recently, we proposed a novel processing of TiO 2 NPs without requiring the oxidation of nanocellulose nor the presence of additional stabilizers [ 49 ]. Type II CNCs, prepared through one-pot acid hydrolysis with H 2 SO 4 , were utilized since this process renders nanocrystals richer in sulfate ester groups [ 9 ].…”

“…The colloidal stability of such inks can be further enhanced just by a slight increase in the pH, using ammonium hydroxide, but with no other auxiliary adjuvant nor chemical functionalization. Furthermore, the aqueous nature of the as-prepared inks allowed their transfer into photoactive TiO 2 films by spray-coating, being tested as photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting [ 49 ]. These produced photoelectrodes demonstrated enhanced performance compared to benchmark TiO 2 electrodes, following a greener path [ 49 ].…”

“…Furthermore, the aqueous nature of the as-prepared inks allowed their transfer into photoactive TiO 2 films by spray-coating, being tested as photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting [ 49 ]. These produced photoelectrodes demonstrated enhanced performance compared to benchmark TiO 2 electrodes, following a greener path [ 49 ].…”