Triblock copolymer-assisted construction of 20 nm-sized ytterbium-doped TiO2 hollow nanostructures for enhanced solar energy utilization efficiency

The synthesis and characterization of ytterbium-doped TiO2 hollow spheres with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

“…16 Doping TiO 2 with rare earth elements not only inhibits the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs in TiO 2 due to the special electron orbit structure of lanthanon, but also restrains the transformation of the anatase phase to the rutile phase in the TiO 2 lattice and crystalline grain thinning. [17][18][19] Nanostructured Yb 3+ -doped TiO 2 was fabricated by Liu 20 and it displayed improved photocatalysis for the degradation of orangeII. Romero 17 synthesized a series of rare-earth ion-doped TiO 2 powders via a sol-gel method and found that the rare earth ions are positive for the photocatalytic performance because they can inhibit the transformation of the crystalline phase of TiO 2 from the anatase to the rutile phase.…”

Near‐Infrared Light Responsive TiO2 for Efficient Solar Energy Utilization

“…For example, Yb‐doped TiO 2 hollow nanostructures have weak absorbance in 850–1050 nm caused by the 4f electron transitions of Yb 3+ . [ 130 ] Besides, Hao et al found that rutile TiO 2 doped with Nb and Er has an absorption of 200–900 nm. [ 127 ] Moreover, green, red, and NIR emissions were obtained from the sample under 980 nm laser diode excitation based on an up/downconversion photon process.…”

Ytterbium oxide nanofibers: fabrication and characterization for energy applications

“…As it is known, metal oxide materials are extensively used in energy production from renewable energy sources. Literature review shows that ytterbium oxide and ytterbium-doped metal oxide nanomaterials belonging to the lanthanide oxide family are interesting materials within the scope of these studies [ 1 – 6 ]. For example, it has been reported in many studies that ytterbium-based or ytterbium-doped oxides increase photoactivity in hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) [ 3 , 5 , 7 – 9 ].…”

“…In addition to HER studies, these materials have been used as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and as upconverted layers in thin-film solar cells. It has been reported in the DSSC study that when ytterbium-based materials are used together with photoanodes such as TiO 2 and ZnO, they facilitate charge transport and increase the lifetime of photoexcited electrons [ 1 , 6 ]. On the other hand, they help to absorb shorter wavelengths and thus increase the power conversion efficiency in the thin-film solar cell [ 10 ].…”