Preparation and Characterization of CA-MA Eutectic/Silicon Dioxide Nanoscale Composite Phase Change Material from Water Glass via Sol-Gel Method

This work mainly involved the preparation of a nano-scale form-stable phase change material（PCM） consisting of capric and myristic acid（CA-MA） binary eutectic acting as thermal absorbing material and nano silicon dioxide（nano-SiO_2） serving as the supporting material. Industrial water glass for preparation of the nano silicon dioxide matrix and CA-MA eutectic mixture were compounded by single-step sol-gel method with the silane coupling agent. The morphology, chemical characterization and form stability property of the composite PCM were investigated by transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, Fourier-transform infrared（FT-IR） spectroscopy and polarizing microscopy（POM）. It was indicated that the average diameter of the composite PCM particle ranged from 30-100 nm. The CA-MA eutectic was immobilized in the network pores constructed by the Si-O bonds so that the composite PCM was allowed no liquid leakage above the melting temperature of the CA-MA eutectic. Differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） measurement were conducted to investigate the thermal properties and stability of the composite PCM. From the measurement results, the mass fraction of the CA-MA eutectic in the composite PCM was about 40%. The phase change temperature and latent heat of the composite were determined to be 21.15 ℃ and 55.67 J/g, respectively. Meanwhile, thermal conductivity of the composite was measured to be 0.208 W·m^（-1）·K^（-1） by using the transient hot-wire method. The composite PCM was able to maintain the surrounding temperature close to its phase change temperature and behaved well in thermalregulated performance which was verified by the heat storage-release experiment. This kind of form-stable PCM was supposed to complete thermal insulation even temperature regulation by the dual effect of relatively low thermal conductivity and phase change thermal storage-release properties. So it can be formulated that the nanoscale CA-MA/SiO_2 composite PCM with the form-stable property, good thermal storage capacity and relatively low thermal conductivity can be applied for energy conservation as a kind of thermal functional material.

Preparation and photocatalytic activity of neodymium doping titania loaded to silicon dioxide

Neodymium doping titania was loaded to silicon dioxide to prepare Nd/TiO2-SiO2 by sol-gel method and Nd/TiO2-SiO2 was characterized by X-ray diffractometry （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR） and diffuse reflectance spectra （DRS）. Photocatalytic activities of Nd/TiO2-SiO2 with different neodymium contents were evaluated by degradation of methyl orange. The light absorption of Nd/TiO2-SiO2 increased with increasing doping neodymium in a visible light range of 388-619 nm, and Nd doping was in favor of decreasing the recombination of photo-generated electrons with holes. Nd and SiO2 improved the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The optimal molar fraction of Nd to Ti was 0.1%, and the optimum calcination temperature was 600 ℃. The highest degradation rate of methyl orange was 82.9% after irradiation for 1 h.

Catalytic Activity of Iridium Dioxide With Different Morphologies for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Iridium dioxide with different morphologies(nanorod and nanogranular) is successfully prepared by a modified sol-gel and Adams methods. The catalytic activity of both samples for oxygen reduction reaction is investigated in an alkaline solution. The electrochemical results show that the catalytic activity of the nanogranular Ir O2 sample is superior to that of the nanorod sample due to its higher onset potential for oxygen reduction reaction and higher electrode current density in low potential region. The results of Koutecky-Levich analysis indicate that the oxygen reduction reaction catalyzed by both samples is a mixture transfer pathway. It is dominated by four electron transfer pathway for both samples in high overpotential area, while it is controlled by two electron transfer process for both samples in low overpotential area.

New Preparation Method of Visible Light Responsive Titanium Dioxide Photocatalytic Films

We report a new and simple preparation method of the visible light responsive Titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalytic films using sol-gel method and ultraviolet light (UV) irradiation. Proposed films were prepared on fused silica plates using titanium tetra-isopropoxide, urea, 2-methoxyethanol, water and UV irradiation. The 650°C-annealed films were carbon-containing anatase type TiO2, not carbon-doped ones. The prepared films absorbed visible light with wavelengths longer than 400 nm. Also, organic dyes were effectively photodegradated by visible light irradiation in the presence of these films.

Preparation and characterization of (metal, nitrogen)-codoped TiO_2 by TiCl_4 sol-gel auto-igniting synthesis

The nitrogen-doped and （metal, nitrogen）-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts （metal = Ag, Ce, Fe, La） were synthesized by sol-gel auto-igniting synthesis （SAS） with the complex compound sol of TiCl4-NH4NO3-citri acid-metal nitrate- NH3.H20 as a precursor. The products were characterized by means of XRD, XPS, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and their photocatalytic activity was investigated under visible light. It was found that all the synthesized powders showed good absorption for visible light, and that the radius and alterable valence states of doping metallic cations played important roles on their photocatalytic activity. These results were discussed in detail.

Preparation and Characterization of Sodium Sulfate/Silica Composite as a Shape-stabilized Phase Change Material by Sol-gel Method

A sodium sulfate （NaeSO4）/silica （SiO2） composite was prepared as a shape-stabilized solid-liquid phase change material by a sol-gel procedure using Na2SiO3 as the silica source. Na2SO4 in the composite acts as a latent heat storage substance for solid-liquid phase change, while SiO2 acts as a support material to provide structural strength and prevent leakage of melted NazSO4. The microstructure and composition of the prepared composite were characterized by the N2 adsorption, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, scanning electron microscope （SEM）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the prepared Na2SOJSiO2 composite is a nanostructured hybrid of NazSO4 and SiO2 without new substances produced during the phase change. The macroscopic shape of the NazSO4/SiO2 composite after the melting and freezing cycles does not change and there is no leakage of Na2SO4. Determined by differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） analysis, the values of phase change latent heat of melting and freezing of the prepared NazSO4/SiO2 （50%, by mass） composite are 82.3 kJ.kg i and 83.7 kJ.kg-1, and temperatures of melting and freezing are 886.0 ℃ and 880.6 ℃, respectively. Furthermore, the Na2SOJSiO2 composite maintains good thermal energy storage and release ability even after 100 cycles of melting and freezing. The satisfactory thermal storage performance renders this composite a versatile tool for high-temperature thermal energy storage.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of (La, N) co-doped TiO_2 by TiCl_4 sol-gel autoigniting synthesis

（La, N） co-doped TiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized using TiC14 sol-gel autoignidng synthesis （SAS） starting from a complex compound system of TiCl4-La（NO3）3-citric acid-NH4NO3-NHyH2O, in which the （La, N） co-doped process was accompushed in the formation of TiO2 nanocrystals. The prepared samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction （XRD）, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy （XPS） and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The results indicated that nitrogen and lanthanum were incorporated into the lattice and interstices of titania nanocrystals, which resulted in narrowing the band gap and promoting the separation of photoexcited hole-electron pairs, respectively, and showing expected red-shifts and enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light. The mechanism on nitrogen doping and enhancement in photocatalyfic activity of （La, N） co-doped titania by SAS was discussed in detail.

Infrared Thermochromic Properties of VO_2 Thin Films Prepared through Aqueous Sol-gel Process

The stoichiometric vanadium（IV） oxide thin films were obtained by controlling the temperature, time and pressure of annealing. The thermochromic phase transition and the IR thermochromic property of 400 nm and 900 nm VO2 thin films in the 7.5 μm-14 μm region were discussed. The derived VO2 thin film samples were characterized by Raman, XRD, XPS, AFM, SEM, and DSC. The resistance and infrared emissivity of VO2 thin films under different temperature were measured, and the thermal images of films were obtained using infrared imager. The results show that the VO2 thin film annealed at 550 ℃ for 10 hours through aqueous sol-gel process is pure and uniform. The 900 nm VO2 thin film exhibits better IR thermochromic property than the 400 nm VO2 thin film. The resistance of 900 nm VO2 film can change by 4 orders of magnitude and the emissivity can change by 0.6 during the phase transition, suggesting the outstanding IR thermochromic property. The derived VO2 thin film can control its infrared radiation intensity and lower its apparent temperature actively when the real temperature increases, which may be applied in the field of energy saving, thermal control and camouflage.

Synthesis of Anatase TiO_2 Nanoparticles by Improved Sol-Gel Process at Low Temperature

The nanocrystalline TiO_2 powder were prepared by improved sol-gel method at low temperature under ambient pressure. The prepared TiO_2 powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that the yield of anatase TiO_2 significantly increases with the reduction of pH by increasing the nucleation rate of anatase. There is an optimum amount of water in sol for the formation of anatase by combining two effects on the concentration of Ti(OH)_4 in gels. Increasing in reaction temperature also benefit to the nucleation of anatase of TiO_2.

Sol-Gel Synthesis of TiO₂Thin Films from In-House Nano-TiO₂Powder

This paper presents the optimization process in sol-gel technique to synthesize Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films using in-house Nano-TiO2 powder. Nano-TiO2 powder was previously synthesized in our lab from ilmenite which is a tin mining byproduct using a modified hydrothermal method. By varying the mass of Nano-TiO2 powder and acetic acid (catalyst) concentration in the sol-gel process, highly transparent TiO2 thin films were obtained. The thin films were characterized by field effect scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thickness profiler, ultra-violet-visible spectrometer (UV-Vis) and current-voltage (I-V) measurement system. This paper also demonstrates the TiO2 thin films are sensitive towards isopropanol (IPA) solution where the I-V response of the thin films changed sharply as IPA was dropped onto the thin film’s surface. The electrical property shows the thin film has potential applications for chemical sensors and solar cells.

Preparation of anatase TiO_2 with assistance of surfactant OP-10 and its electrochemical properties as an anode material for lithium ion batteries

With the assistance of nonionic surfactant （OP-10） and surface-selective surfactant （CH3COOH）, anatase TiO2 was prepared as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. The morphology, the crystal structure, and the electrochemical properties of the prepared anatase TiO2 were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）, and galvanostatic charge and discharge test. The result shows that the prepared anatase TiO2 has high discharge capacity and good cyclic stability. The maximum discharge capacity is 313 mAh.g^-1, and there is no significant capacity decay from the second cycle.

Study of erbium (Ⅲ) doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles by photoacoustic spectroscopy

Nanocrystalline titania as photocatalyst has attracted considerable attention for its potential use in environmental cleaning.Recently,lanthanide ions doped titania samples have been shown to increase the photocatalytic efficiency of selected reactions.In this work,TiO2 nanoparticles doped with Er3+ were prepared via an ultrasonic assisted sol-gel method.The optical properties of the samples were determined by photoacoustic(PA) spectroscopy.It was found that the absorption edge shifted to lower wavelength w...

Preparation of TiO_2 Thin Film and Its Antibacterial Activity

TiO 2 nanometer thin films with photocatalytic antibacterial activity were prepared by the sol-gel method on fused quartz and soda lime glass precoated with a SiO 2 layer.The thin films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),and X-ray diffraction (XRD).The results show that sodium and calcium diffusion into nascent TiO 2 film is effectively retarded by the SiO 2 layer precoated on the soda lime glass.The antibacterial activity of the films was determined.The crystalline of TiO 2 nanometer thin film has important effects on the antibacterial activity of the film.

Effects of postthermal treatment and UV irradiation on the structure of titania-polyacrylate nanocomposites

The effects of postthermal treatment and irradiation time on the structure and thermal stability of TiO2/polyacrylate nanocomposites by a sol-gel process in reverse micelles and subsequent rapid photopolymerization were investigated, and the hybrid films were characterized by thermal gravimetry analysis （TGA）, X-ray photoelectron spectrum （XPS）, and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. XPS data suggested that the prolongation of irradiation time and the postthermal treatment promoted titania formation, with the former affecting more remarkably. TGA data showed that TiO2-hybrid films could upgrade the decomposition onset temperature （Tonset） as well as the temperature at which there is a maximum mass loss rate （Tmax）. AFM data demonstrated that the inorganic titania particles with a mean diameter of 25.26-28.84 nm were homogeneously distributed in the organic matrix.

A New Biochemical Way for Conversion of CO_2 to Methanol via Dehydrogenases Encapsulated in SiO_2 Matrix

CO2 is converted to methanol through an enzymatic approach using formate dehydro- genase (FateDH), formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FaldDH) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) co- encapsulated in silica gel prepared by modified sol-gel process as catalysts, TEOS as precursor, NADH as an electron donor. The highest yield of methanol was up to 92.1% under 37C, pH7.0 and 0.3Mpa.

Photocatalytic Characteristics of TiO2/Hangjin 2# Clay Composites

Composite photocatalyst of TiOg/Hangjin 2# clay has been used as a carrier for the composite photocatalyst due to its low cost prepared by acid-catalyzed sol-gel method. Hangjin 2# clay was and abundant reserves in Inner Mongolia, China. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller （BET） specific surface area measurements. XRD patterns proved that anatase and rutile phases were coexisted with 52% anatase and 48% ruffle for the TiO2 in the composite. FT-IR analysis demonstrated that the insertion of TiO2 in composite photocatalyst did not destroy the basal framework structure of the clay. SEM results proved the addition of Hangjin 2# clay restrained TiO2 grain growth and the grain size in the composite was smaller than that of pure TiO2 in the same process. Photocatalytic characteristics of TiO2/Hangiin 2~ clay composites were evaluated by measuring degradation ratio of methylene blue （MB） in aqueous solution under ultraviolet （UV） irradiation. Effects of TiO2 wt%, gelling temperature and heat-treating temperature on the photocatalytic activity of the composites were investigated. The composite catalyst showed higher photocatalytic activity than the pure TiO2 under the same experimental conditions. In addition, the composite photocatalysts were easier to recover and reuse than pure TiO2 samples.

Preparation of titanium dioxide-double-walled carbon nanotubes and its application in flexible dye-sensitized solar cells

Titanium dioxide-double-walled carbon nano- tubes （TiO2-DWCNTs） with DWCNTs/TiO2 of 20 wt.% is prepared by a conventional sol-gel method. Doping the TiO2-DWCNTs in TiO2 photoanode, a flexible dye- sensitized solar cell （DSSC） is fabricated. The sample is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） absorption, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy （UV- vis） absorption spectra , electrochemical impedance spec- troscopy （EIS） technique and photovoltaic measurement. It is found that adding a certain amount of TiO2-DWCNTs can efficiently decrease the resistance of charge transport, improve dye adsorption. Under an optimal condition, a flexible DSSC contained with 0.50 wt.% TiOz-DWCNTs achieves a light-to-electric energy conversion efficiency of 3.89% under a simulate solar light irradiation of 100 mW. cm^2.

Parametric study and effect of calcination and carbonation conditions on the CO_2 capture performance of lithium orthosilicate sorbent

The world is currently facing the challenges of global warming and climate change. Numerous efforts have been taken to mitigate CO2 emission, among which is the use of solid sorbents for CO2 capture. In this work, Li4SiO4 was synthesised via a sol-gel method using lithium nitrate （LiNO3） and tetraethylorthosilicate （SiC8H20O4） as precursors. A parametric study of Li：Si molar ratio （1-5）, calcination temperature （600-800℃） and calcination time （1-8 h） were conducted during sorbent synthesis. Calcination temperature （700-800℃） and carbonation temperature （500-700℃） during CO2 sorption activity were also varied to confirm the optimum operating temperature. Sorbent with the highest CO2 sorption capacity was finally introduced to several cyclic tests to study the durability of the sorbent through 10 cycles of CO2 sorption-desorption test. The results showed that the calcination temperature of 800℃ and carbonation temperature of 700℃ were the best operating temperatures, with CO2 sorption capacity of 7.95 mmol CO2·（g sorbent）^-1 （93% of the theoretical yield）. Throughout the ten cyclic processes, CO2 sorption capacity of the sorbent had dropped approximately 16.2% from the first to the tenth cycle, which was a reasonable decline. Thus, it was concluded that Li4SiO4 is a potential CO2 solid sorbent for high temperature CO2 capture activity.

Fabrication of Porous Silica Microspheres Under the Assistance of Solid Template

Spherical porous silica microparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel process in the presence of porous CaCO3 particles, followed by removal of the carbonate templates. The resulting silica particles had very high porosity and wide pore size distribution, whose surface area and pore volume reached up to 367.3 m2/g and 0.72 mL/g, re- spectively. With a larger amount of the tetraethyl orthosilicate used, hollow silica microspheres were further obtained. Characterization was made to confirm the chemical and physical structures and purity of the silica microspheres. Spontaneous deposition of tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate labeled dextran into the microspheres was also ob- served due to the charge attraction.

Synthesis and Gas-sensing Performance of Nanosized SnO_2

Nanosized tin dioxide particles were prepared by sol-gel dialytic processes with tin(Ⅳ) chloride and alcohol as start materials. The nanoparticles of tin dioxide were charactered by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis(TG-DTA), X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET. The results show that the average diameter of tin dioxide particles dried at 353 K was about 2 nm. Even if the tin dioxide particles were calcined at 873 K, the average diameter of particles was less than 10 nm. The removal of Cl- was solved by using this kind of method. The mechanism of the formation of tin dioxide nanosized particles was proposed and analyzed in this paper. We also measured the sensitivity of the sensor based on the tin oxide powder calcined at 673 K to NH 3, alcohol, acetone, hexane and CO. The gas-sensing performance results indicate that this sensor has a higher sensitivity to alcohol and acetone, and selectivity for NH 3, hexane and CO at an operating temperature of 343 K.