Detection of Trace Heavy Metals Ions by Arrays of Titania Nanotubes Annealed in Nitrogen

Redox response of trace heavy metals ions（THMIs） has better performance on highly ordered vertically oriented titania nanotube arrays（TNA） annealed in nitrogen. Experimental data showed that different THMIs possess different reaction peak shapes and charge and discharge capacities. Therefore, the TNA will become an important tool used for environmental protection and facilitating the rapid determination of THMIs. THMIs of 5×10^4 mol/L concentration were measured at a scan rate of 100 mV/s. The analytical utility of TNA is demonstrated in a neutral 0.5 mol/L Na2SO4 solution. The results sufficiently show that titania nanotube arrays electrodes（TNAE） will be used to measure THMIs.

Octahedral Cu_2O-modified TiO_2 nanotube arrays for efficient photocatalytic reduction of CO_2

A photocatalyst composed of TiO 2 nanotube arrays（TNTs） and octahedral Cu2 O nanoparticles was fabricated,and its performance in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 under visible and simulated solar irradiation was studied. The average nanotube diameter and length was 100 nm and 5 μm,respectively. The different amount of octahedral Cu2 O modified TNTs were obtained by varying electrochemical deposition time. TNTs modified with an optimized amount of Cu2 O nanoparticles exhibited high efficiency in the photocatalysis,and the predominant hydrocarbon product was methane. The methane yield increased with increasing Cu2 O content of the catalyst up to a certain deposition time,and decreased with further increase in Cu2 O deposition time. Insufficient deposition time（5 min） resulted in a small amount of Cu2 O nanoparticles on the TNTs,leading to the disadvantage of harvesting light. However,excess deposition time（45 min） gave rise to entire TNT surface being most covered with Cu2 O nanoparticles with large sizes,inconvenient for the transport of photo-generated carriers. The highest methane yield under simulated solar and visible light irradiation was observed for the catalysts prepared at a Cu2 O deposition time of 15 and 30 min respectively. The morphology,crystallization,photoresponse and electrochemical properties of the catalyst were characterized to understand the mechanism of its high photocatalytic activity. The TNT structure provided abundant active sites for the adsorption of reactants,and promoted the transport of photogenerated carriers that improved charge separation. Modifying the TNTs with octahedral Cu2 O nanoparticles promoted light absorption,and prevented the hydrocarbon product from oxidation. These factors provided the Cu2O-modified TNT photocatalyst with high efficiency in the reduction of CO2,without requiring co-catalysts or sacrificial agents.

Effect of Anodization Parameters on Morphologies of TiO2 Nanotube Arrays and Their Surface Properties

This work presents the potentiostatic anodization study of titania nanotube array films fabricated in fluoride-based organic electrolytes including DEG （diethylene glycol） and EG （ethylene glycol）. The work focuses on the effect of important anodization parameters such as applied voltage, anodization time, and electrolyte type on nanotube morphologies and corresponding surface properties. Depending upon unique nanotube formation structures obtained from each anodizing electrolyte, wettability of the nanotube array layer has been determined by means of the contact angle measurement. The EG nanotube array films with close-packing cell orientation are found to show hydrophilic behavior. While the well separated DEG nanotube array films are found to exhibit hydrophobic behavior, with the characteristics of more discrete, wider cell separation obtained through manipulating the electrolyte conditions and the fabrication techniques offering considerable prospects for developing the superhydrophobic sample surface. Such formation structures observed for the DEG fabricated nanotube is believed to play a prominent role in determining the surface wettability of the anodized nanotube array film. The achieved result in this work is anticipated to pave the way to other relevant applications, where interfacial properties are critically concerned.

Influence evaluation of titania nanotube surface morphology on the performance of bioelectrochemical systems

In order to investigate the effect of the surface morphology and resistance of the TiO2 semiconductor on current output,TiO2 nanotube array bio-anodes(TNA)are synthesized at different electrolyte temperatures,thereby changing the length and surface roughness of the nanotubes.When the anodizing temperature is increased from 30 to 75℃,the length of the nanotubes increases from 1.459 to 4.183μm,which hinders the transfer of extracellular electrons to the electrodes.On the other hand,the surface roughness of TNA is significantly improved at higher temperatures,which is conducive to electron transfer.Therefore,samples processed at 45℃have the best current output performance.Compared with the treatment at 30℃under anodization,samples processed at 45℃can balance the resistance and roughness and have a higher electron transfer rate;the current output density of which is increased by 1.5 times,and the decolorization rate is increased by 0.8 times.Therefore,proper TNA surface morphology can improve the current output and the potential of wastewater treatment.

Photocatalytic and Photoelectronic Properties of Anatase TiO_2 Modified by Cu Ions Plasma and Its Theoretic Study by the First Principle Study

Highly oxidation. SEM analysis ordered anatase titania nanotube method was used to characterize arrays （TINT） were fabricated by anodic the morphology of the prepared samples. TiNT samples doped with Cu ions were prepared by home-made Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc ions sources （MEVVA, BNU, China） implanter. Photo-electric response and methyl orange decomposition ability of implanted samples under UV and visible light were tested, and the results indicated that the performance of Cu/TiNT enhanced significantly under visible light; it was noteworthy that the photocurrent density of A-Cu/TiNT was 0.102 mA/cm^2, which was 115 times that of pure TINT, and degradation ability of TiNT also strongly enhanced under visible light. In a word, the absorption spectrum of implanted anatase titania shifted to a longer wavelength region. Theoretic study on Cu-doped anatase based on density functional theory was carried out in this paper to validate the experiment results. The calculation results are depicted as follows： Intermittent energy band appeared around the Fermi energy after doping with Cu metal, the width of which was 0.35 eV and the location of valence and conduction bands shifted to the lower energy level by 0.22 eV; more excitation and jump routes were opened for the electrons. The narrowed band gaps allowed the photons with lower energy （at longer wavelength, such as visible light） to be absorbed, which accorded well with the experimental results.