Enhanced UV Flexible Photodetectors and Photocatalysts Based on TiO2 Nanoplatforms

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanostructured films were synthesized under microwave irradiation through low temperature synthesis (80 °C) and integrated in ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors and as photocatalysts. Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), tracing paper, and polyester film were tested a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Topics in catalysis 2018-10, Vol.61 (15-17), p.1591-1606
Main Authors: Nunes, D., Pimentel, A., Araujo, A., Calmeiro, T. R., Panigrahi, S., Pinto, J. V., Barquinha, P., Gama, M., Fortunato, E., Martins, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catalysis
Catalytic activity
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Contact potentials
Energy dispersive X ray spectroscopy
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Irradiation
Microscopy
Nanostructure
Optical properties
Original Paper
Pharmacy
Photocatalysis
Photocatalysts
Photometers
Physical Chemistry
Raman spectroscopy
Resistance
Rhodamine
Scanning electron microscopy
Solar radiation
Spectrum analysis
Substrates
Synthesis
Titanium dioxide
Ultraviolet detectors
Ultraviolet radiation
X-ray diffraction
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanostructured films were synthesized under microwave irradiation through low temperature synthesis (80 °C) and integrated in ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors and as photocatalysts. Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), tracing paper, and polyester film were tested as substrates, since they are inexpensive, flexible, recyclable, lightweight, and when associated to low temperature synthesis and absence of a seed layer, they become suitable for several low-cost applications. The nanostructured TiO 2 films and substrates were structurally characterized by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The optical properties of all materials were investigated. The TiO 2 nanostructured films were implemented as a photoactive layer of UV photodetectors and demonstrated significant increase of conductance upon exposed to UV irradiation. The photodetection behaviour of each material was investigated by in-situ Kelvin probe force microscopy experiments, in which the contact potential difference varied under dark or UV irradiation conditions, demonstrating higher shift for the BNC-based UV photodetector. Photocatalytic activity of the films was assessed from rhodamine B degradation under solar radiation, and BNC based devices revealed to be the best photocatalyst. The structural characteristics of the TiO 2 films and substrates were correlated to the differences in the UV photodetection and photocatalytic performances. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:1022-5528
1572-9028
DOI:10.1007/s11244-018-0968-4