Synthesis of porous TiO sub(2) thin films prepared with templating technique to improve the photoelectrochemical properties

TiO sub(2) porous thin films were prepared using polystyrene (PS) latex particles as template in conjunction with spin coating technique. In this study, the resulting films were produced by the infiltration of the TiO sub(2) sol particles into the voids between the templates. X-ray diffraction spect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of porous materials 2016-08, Vol.23 (4), p.1085-1094
Main Authors: Bourezgui, Aymen, Kacem, Imen, Assaker, Ibtissem Ben, Gannouni, Mounir, Naceur, Jamila Ben, Karyaoui, Mokhtar, Chtourou, Radhouane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic structure
Catalytic activity
Electrodes
Photocatalysis
Polystyrene resins
Spectra
Thin films
Titanium dioxide
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Summary:TiO sub(2) porous thin films were prepared using polystyrene (PS) latex particles as template in conjunction with spin coating technique. In this study, the resulting films were produced by the infiltration of the TiO sub(2) sol particles into the voids between the templates. X-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the porous TiO sub(2)/PS thin films have anatase structure. High quality of porous structures was observed by atomic force microscopy. The transmittance spectra have shown that elaborated TiO sub(2)/PS thin films have a high transparency in the visible range. To investigate the effect of the templating technique on the photocatalytic activity of porous TiO sub(2)/PS thin films, photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) in the presence of TiO sub(2) was performed. It was found that porous TiO sub(2)/PS thin films exhibited strong photocatalytic activity. Also, the photocurrent density produced by TiO sub(2)/PS thin film electrode reached 0.1 mA/cm super(2), about four times higher than that measured for pure TiO sub(2) thin film. These results indicate that the templating technique has a better photo-electrochemical performance than that of pure TiO sub(2) thin films under illumination. As a result, the porous TiO sub(2)/PS thin film would have great potential in photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical devices.
ISSN:1380-2224
1573-4854
DOI:10.1007/s10934-016-0166-3