In order to manifest the influence of specific microstructural component on the development of severe localized corrosion in an AA2099 aluminum-lithium alloy, the corrosion behavior of the alloy subjected to solution ...In order to manifest the influence of specific microstructural component on the development of severe localized corrosion in an AA2099 aluminum-lithium alloy, the corrosion behavior of the alloy subjected to solution heat treatment, cold working and artificial ageing was investigated. Immersion testing and potentiodynamic polarization were employed to introduce localized corrosion; scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the alloy microstructure and corrosion morphology. It was found that the susceptibility of the alloy to severe localized corrosion was sensitive to thermomechanical treatments. Additionally, the state of alloying elements influenced the mechanism of localized corrosion propagation. Specifically, the alloy in T8 conditions showed higher susceptibility to severe localized corrosion than that in other conditions. During potentiodynamic polarization, the alloy in solution heat-treated and T3 conditions displayed crystallographic corrosion morphology while the alloy in T6 and T8 conditions exhibited selective attack of grain interiors and grain boundaries in local regions.展开更多
The anodizing parameters of voltage, current density, temperature, and electrolyte choice were assessed to find an appropriate combination for the superheated slurry cast 7075 Al alloy substrate.The alloy was anodized...The anodizing parameters of voltage, current density, temperature, and electrolyte choice were assessed to find an appropriate combination for the superheated slurry cast 7075 Al alloy substrate.The alloy was anodized in sulfuric acid electrolyte or alternatively in sulfuric acid mixed with boric acid or citric acid. The voltages applied were in the range of 15-30 V. Anodizing current densities tested were 2 and 3 A/dm^2,while temperatures tested were 5 and 15 ℃. Thickness, surface morphology, hardness,and corrosion resistance of the oxide film were then evaluated.It was found that 25 V,2 A/dm^2 and 5 ℃ were suitable for this alloy when anodized in sulfuric acid. The oxide film was smooth with uniform thickness, low porosity, high hardness,and had the highest corrosion resistance at these parameters. However, discontinuous oxide films were observed from samples anodized at higher temperature of 15 ℃.Alternative electrolytes considered were sulfuric acid mixed with boric acid or citric acid. The results showed that electrolytes with boric acid or citric acid increased thickness, hardness, corrosion resistance and quality of the oxide films.However, these oxide films were inferior to those obtained with sulfuric acid electrolyte at lower temperature(25 V, 2 A/dm^2 and5 ℃).展开更多
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 focuse...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.展开更多
Microbial electrolysis cells(MECs)present an attractive route for energy-saving hydrogen(H2)production along with treatment of various wastewaters,which can convert organic matter into H2 with the assistance of microb...Microbial electrolysis cells(MECs)present an attractive route for energy-saving hydrogen(H2)production along with treatment of various wastewaters,which can convert organic matter into H2 with the assistance of microbial electrocatalysis.However,the development of such renewable technologies for H2 production still faces considerable challenges regarding how to enhance the H2 production rate and to lower the energy and the system cost.In this review,we will focus on the recent research progress of MEC for H2 production.First,we present a brief introduction of MEC technology and the operating mechanism for H2 production.Then,the electrode materials including some typical electrocatalysts for hydrogen production are summarized and discussed.We also highlight how various substrates used in MEC affect the associated performance of hydrogen generation.Finally we presents several key scientific challenges and our perspectives on how to enhance the electrochemical performance.展开更多
The graphite was modified by mild oxidation, and the effects of modification temperature and soaking time on the characteristics of graphite were investigated. The structure and characteristics of the graphite were de...The graphite was modified by mild oxidation, and the effects of modification temperature and soaking time on the characteristics of graphite were investigated. The structure and characteristics of the graphite were determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, BET surface area, particle size analysis and electrochemical measurements. The results show that the modified graphite has a better-developed crystallite structure, larger average particle diameter, smaller surface area, and better electrochemical characteristics than the untrented graphite. The sample mild-oxidized at 600℃ for 3h has the best electrochemical performances with a reversible capacity of 304.5mA·h/g, a irreversible capacity of 66.4mA·h/g, and a initial coulombic efficiency of 82.1%. The charge/discharge properties and a cycling stability of the prototype lithium ion batteries with modified graphite as anodes are improved. Its capacity retention ratio at the 200th cycle is enhanced from 66.75% to 90.15%.展开更多
Anodized composite films containing Si C nanoparticles were synthesized on Ti6Al4 V alloy by anodic oxidation procedure in C4O6H4Na2 electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) ...Anodized composite films containing Si C nanoparticles were synthesized on Ti6Al4 V alloy by anodic oxidation procedure in C4O6H4Na2 electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the films fabricated in the electrolytes with and without addition of Si C nanoparticles. Results show that Si C particles can be successfully incorporated into the oxide film during the anodizing process and preferentially concentrate within internal cavities and micro-cracks. The ball-on-disk sliding tests indicate that Si C-containing oxide films register much lower wear rate than the oxide films without Si C under dry sliding condition. Si C particles are likely to melt and then are oxidized by frictional heat during sliding tests. Potentiodynamic polarization behavior reveals that the anodized alloy with Si C nanoparticles results in a reduction in passive current density to about 1.54×10-8 A/cm2, which is more than two times lower than that of the Ti O2 film(3.73×10-8 A/cm2). The synthesized composite film has good anti-wear and anti-corrosion properties and the growth mechanism of nanocomposite film is also discussed.展开更多
Anodic coatings were prepared by micro-arc oxidation on AZ91HP magnesium alloys in a base solution containing 10 g/L NaOH and 12 g/L phytic acid with addition of 0-8 g/L sodium tungstate.The effects of sodium tungstat...Anodic coatings were prepared by micro-arc oxidation on AZ91HP magnesium alloys in a base solution containing 10 g/L NaOH and 12 g/L phytic acid with addition of 0-8 g/L sodium tungstate.The effects of sodium tungstate on the coating thickness, mass gain,surface morphology and corrosion resistance were studied by eddy current instrument,electronic scales,scanning electron microscope and immersion tester.With the addition of sodium tungstate,the electrolytic conductivity increases and the final voltage decreases.The sodium tungstate has a minor effect on the coating thickness,but lightens the coating color.With increasing sodium tungstate concentration,the size of micropores on the coatings is enlarged and the corrosion resistance of the anodized samples decreases.展开更多
A variety of liquid thermal solar collectors designs used for water heating have been developed by the previous researchers. But the majority of them do not meet the requirements on small weight, easy assembling and i...A variety of liquid thermal solar collectors designs used for water heating have been developed by the previous researchers. But the majority of them do not meet the requirements on small weight, easy assembling and installing, versatility, scalability and adaptability of the design, which are particularly important when they are facade integrated. In order to avoid the above mentioned drawbacks of the liquid thermal collectors, the authors propose to apply to them extruded aluminum alloy made heat pipes of originally designed cross-sectional profile with wide fins and longitudinal grooves. Such solar collectors could be a good solution for building facade and roof integration, because they are assembled of several standard and independent, hermetically sealed and light-weight modules, easy mounted and "dry" connected to the main pipeline. At that, their thermal performances are not worse than of the other known ones made of heavier and more expensive copper with higher thermal conductance, or having entire rigid designs. Some variants of the developed solar collectors shaping of the assembled modules for building facade or roof integration are proposed. Variously colored coatings to the absorbers are developed and made of carbon-siliceous nano-composites by means of sol-gel method. Their optical performances were compared with "anodized black". It is stated that colored coatings have a good prospect in thermal SCs (solar collectors) adaptation to building facades decoration, but the works on study and upgrade of their performances should be continued.展开更多
Nowadays, the electrochemical water treatments are very important methods used for the removal of organic and inorganic impurities from fresh, drinking water and wastewater. The method consists of carrying out the oxi...Nowadays, the electrochemical water treatments are very important methods used for the removal of organic and inorganic impurities from fresh, drinking water and wastewater. The method consists of carrying out the oxidation reaction at the anode where pollutants are transferred into non-toxic substances, by decomposing into simpler compounds or transferring into oxidation form. RuO2-based Dimensional Stable Anode (DSA) is a technologically good and important electrode for water treatment because of its unique characteristics such as high thermal and chemical stability, low resistivity and low overpotential. This paper reviews the methods for fabricating RuO2-based electrodes that can be used in electrochemical water treatment. Depending on the different fabrication routes, RuO2 electrodes will possess the different electro-catalytic property and stability.展开更多
In this paper, the IHSL transform and the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) segmentation algorithm are combined together to perform the unsupervised classification for fully polarimetric Synthetic Ap-erture Rader (SAR) data. We app...In this paper, the IHSL transform and the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) segmentation algorithm are combined together to perform the unsupervised classification for fully polarimetric Synthetic Ap-erture Rader (SAR) data. We apply the IHSL colour transform to H/α/SPANspace to obtain a new space (RGB colour space) which has a uniform distinguishability among inner parameters and contains the whole polarimetric information in H/α/SPAN.Then the FCM algorithm is applied to this RGB space to finish the classification procedure. The main advantages of this method are that the parameters in the color space have similar interclass distinguishability, thus it can achieve a high performance in the pixel based segmentation algorithm, and since we can treat the parameters in the same way, the segmentation procedure can be simplified. The experiments show that it can provide an improved classification result compared with the method which uses the H/α/SPANspace di-rectly during the segmentation procedure.展开更多
Pool boiling of saturated water on a plain Ti surface and surfaces covered with vertically-oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays(NTAs) has been studied.The technique of potentiostatic anodization using non-aqueous electrolyte...Pool boiling of saturated water on a plain Ti surface and surfaces covered with vertically-oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays(NTAs) has been studied.The technique of potentiostatic anodization using non-aqueous electrolytes was adopted to fabricate three types of TiO2 NTAs distinguished by their anodization time.Compared to the bare Ti surface,the incipient boiling wall superheat on the TiO2 NTAs was decreased by 11 K.Both the critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient of pool boiling on the TiO2 NTAs were higher than those from boiling on a bare Ti surface.The measured maximum critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient values were 186.7 W/cm2 and 6.22 W/cm2K,respectively.Different performances for the enhancement of heat transfer by the three types of TiO2 NTAs were attributed to the different degrees of deformation in the nanostructure during boiling.Long-term performance of the nanomaterial-coated surfaces for enhanced pool boiling showed degradation of the TiO2 NTAs prepared with an anodization time of 3 hours.展开更多
Well crystallized niobium-doped TiO; nanotube arrays (TiNbO-NT) were successfully synthesized via the anodization of titanium/niobium alloy sheets, followed with a heat treatment at 550 ℃ for 2 h. Morphology analys...Well crystallized niobium-doped TiO; nanotube arrays (TiNbO-NT) were successfully synthesized via the anodization of titanium/niobium alloy sheets, followed with a heat treatment at 550 ℃ for 2 h. Morphology analysis results demonstrated that both the titanium/niobium alloy microstructure and the dissolution strength of electrolyte played major roles in the formation of nanotube structure. A single-phase microstructure was more favorable to the formation of uniform nanotube arrays, while modulating the dissolution strength of electrolyte was required to obtain nanotube arrays from the alloys with multi-phase microstructures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analysis results clearly demonstrated that niobium dopants (Nb^5+) were successfully doped into TiO2 anatase lattice by substituting Ti^4+ in this approach.展开更多
基金Projects(51301214,51441002)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProject(cstc2013jcyj A50017)supported by Fundamental and Cutting-edge Research Plan of Chongqing,China+1 种基金Project supported by EPSRC LATEST2 Program,UKProject supported by Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars,State Education Ministry
文摘In order to manifest the influence of specific microstructural component on the development of severe localized corrosion in an AA2099 aluminum-lithium alloy, the corrosion behavior of the alloy subjected to solution heat treatment, cold working and artificial ageing was investigated. Immersion testing and potentiodynamic polarization were employed to introduce localized corrosion; scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the alloy microstructure and corrosion morphology. It was found that the susceptibility of the alloy to severe localized corrosion was sensitive to thermomechanical treatments. Additionally, the state of alloying elements influenced the mechanism of localized corrosion propagation. Specifically, the alloy in T8 conditions showed higher susceptibility to severe localized corrosion than that in other conditions. During potentiodynamic polarization, the alloy in solution heat-treated and T3 conditions displayed crystallographic corrosion morphology while the alloy in T6 and T8 conditions exhibited selective attack of grain interiors and grain boundaries in local regions.
基金financially supported by the Higher Education Research Promotionthe National Research University Project of Thailand, Office of the Higher Education (Contract No. ENG580529S)+2 种基金Center of Excellence in Materials Engineering (CEME)the Graduate Engineer Scholarship and the Graduate School ScholarshipPrince of Songkla University, including Surat Thani Campus (2016)
文摘The anodizing parameters of voltage, current density, temperature, and electrolyte choice were assessed to find an appropriate combination for the superheated slurry cast 7075 Al alloy substrate.The alloy was anodized in sulfuric acid electrolyte or alternatively in sulfuric acid mixed with boric acid or citric acid. The voltages applied were in the range of 15-30 V. Anodizing current densities tested were 2 and 3 A/dm^2,while temperatures tested were 5 and 15 ℃. Thickness, surface morphology, hardness,and corrosion resistance of the oxide film were then evaluated.It was found that 25 V,2 A/dm^2 and 5 ℃ were suitable for this alloy when anodized in sulfuric acid. The oxide film was smooth with uniform thickness, low porosity, high hardness,and had the highest corrosion resistance at these parameters. However, discontinuous oxide films were observed from samples anodized at higher temperature of 15 ℃.Alternative electrolytes considered were sulfuric acid mixed with boric acid or citric acid. The results showed that electrolytes with boric acid or citric acid increased thickness, hardness, corrosion resistance and quality of the oxide films.However, these oxide films were inferior to those obtained with sulfuric acid electrolyte at lower temperature(25 V, 2 A/dm^2 and5 ℃).
文摘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.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21566025 and No.21875253)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province(No.20152ACB21019 and No.20162BCB23044)。
文摘Microbial electrolysis cells(MECs)present an attractive route for energy-saving hydrogen(H2)production along with treatment of various wastewaters,which can convert organic matter into H2 with the assistance of microbial electrocatalysis.However,the development of such renewable technologies for H2 production still faces considerable challenges regarding how to enhance the H2 production rate and to lower the energy and the system cost.In this review,we will focus on the recent research progress of MEC for H2 production.First,we present a brief introduction of MEC technology and the operating mechanism for H2 production.Then,the electrode materials including some typical electrocatalysts for hydrogen production are summarized and discussed.We also highlight how various substrates used in MEC affect the associated performance of hydrogen generation.Finally we presents several key scientific challenges and our perspectives on how to enhance the electrochemical performance.
基金Project (2002 87) surported by Key Problem Study Plan of Science and Technology of Hunan Province
文摘The graphite was modified by mild oxidation, and the effects of modification temperature and soaking time on the characteristics of graphite were investigated. The structure and characteristics of the graphite were determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, BET surface area, particle size analysis and electrochemical measurements. The results show that the modified graphite has a better-developed crystallite structure, larger average particle diameter, smaller surface area, and better electrochemical characteristics than the untrented graphite. The sample mild-oxidized at 600℃ for 3h has the best electrochemical performances with a reversible capacity of 304.5mA·h/g, a irreversible capacity of 66.4mA·h/g, and a initial coulombic efficiency of 82.1%. The charge/discharge properties and a cycling stability of the prototype lithium ion batteries with modified graphite as anodes are improved. Its capacity retention ratio at the 200th cycle is enhanced from 66.75% to 90.15%.
基金Project(51271012)supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘Anodized composite films containing Si C nanoparticles were synthesized on Ti6Al4 V alloy by anodic oxidation procedure in C4O6H4Na2 electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the films fabricated in the electrolytes with and without addition of Si C nanoparticles. Results show that Si C particles can be successfully incorporated into the oxide film during the anodizing process and preferentially concentrate within internal cavities and micro-cracks. The ball-on-disk sliding tests indicate that Si C-containing oxide films register much lower wear rate than the oxide films without Si C under dry sliding condition. Si C particles are likely to melt and then are oxidized by frictional heat during sliding tests. Potentiodynamic polarization behavior reveals that the anodized alloy with Si C nanoparticles results in a reduction in passive current density to about 1.54×10-8 A/cm2, which is more than two times lower than that of the Ti O2 film(3.73×10-8 A/cm2). The synthesized composite film has good anti-wear and anti-corrosion properties and the growth mechanism of nanocomposite film is also discussed.
基金Projects(GJJ08363,GJJ09573)supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Jiangxi Provincial Education Department,China
文摘Anodic coatings were prepared by micro-arc oxidation on AZ91HP magnesium alloys in a base solution containing 10 g/L NaOH and 12 g/L phytic acid with addition of 0-8 g/L sodium tungstate.The effects of sodium tungstate on the coating thickness, mass gain,surface morphology and corrosion resistance were studied by eddy current instrument,electronic scales,scanning electron microscope and immersion tester.With the addition of sodium tungstate,the electrolytic conductivity increases and the final voltage decreases.The sodium tungstate has a minor effect on the coating thickness,but lightens the coating color.With increasing sodium tungstate concentration,the size of micropores on the coatings is enlarged and the corrosion resistance of the anodized samples decreases.
文摘A variety of liquid thermal solar collectors designs used for water heating have been developed by the previous researchers. But the majority of them do not meet the requirements on small weight, easy assembling and installing, versatility, scalability and adaptability of the design, which are particularly important when they are facade integrated. In order to avoid the above mentioned drawbacks of the liquid thermal collectors, the authors propose to apply to them extruded aluminum alloy made heat pipes of originally designed cross-sectional profile with wide fins and longitudinal grooves. Such solar collectors could be a good solution for building facade and roof integration, because they are assembled of several standard and independent, hermetically sealed and light-weight modules, easy mounted and "dry" connected to the main pipeline. At that, their thermal performances are not worse than of the other known ones made of heavier and more expensive copper with higher thermal conductance, or having entire rigid designs. Some variants of the developed solar collectors shaping of the assembled modules for building facade or roof integration are proposed. Variously colored coatings to the absorbers are developed and made of carbon-siliceous nano-composites by means of sol-gel method. Their optical performances were compared with "anodized black". It is stated that colored coatings have a good prospect in thermal SCs (solar collectors) adaptation to building facades decoration, but the works on study and upgrade of their performances should be continued.
文摘Nowadays, the electrochemical water treatments are very important methods used for the removal of organic and inorganic impurities from fresh, drinking water and wastewater. The method consists of carrying out the oxidation reaction at the anode where pollutants are transferred into non-toxic substances, by decomposing into simpler compounds or transferring into oxidation form. RuO2-based Dimensional Stable Anode (DSA) is a technologically good and important electrode for water treatment because of its unique characteristics such as high thermal and chemical stability, low resistivity and low overpotential. This paper reviews the methods for fabricating RuO2-based electrodes that can be used in electrochemical water treatment. Depending on the different fabrication routes, RuO2 electrodes will possess the different electro-catalytic property and stability.
文摘In this paper, the IHSL transform and the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) segmentation algorithm are combined together to perform the unsupervised classification for fully polarimetric Synthetic Ap-erture Rader (SAR) data. We apply the IHSL colour transform to H/α/SPANspace to obtain a new space (RGB colour space) which has a uniform distinguishability among inner parameters and contains the whole polarimetric information in H/α/SPAN.Then the FCM algorithm is applied to this RGB space to finish the classification procedure. The main advantages of this method are that the parameters in the color space have similar interclass distinguishability, thus it can achieve a high performance in the pixel based segmentation algorithm, and since we can treat the parameters in the same way, the segmentation procedure can be simplified. The experiments show that it can provide an improved classification result compared with the method which uses the H/α/SPANspace di-rectly during the segmentation procedure.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11004054,50825603,U1034004)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
文摘Pool boiling of saturated water on a plain Ti surface and surfaces covered with vertically-oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays(NTAs) has been studied.The technique of potentiostatic anodization using non-aqueous electrolytes was adopted to fabricate three types of TiO2 NTAs distinguished by their anodization time.Compared to the bare Ti surface,the incipient boiling wall superheat on the TiO2 NTAs was decreased by 11 K.Both the critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient of pool boiling on the TiO2 NTAs were higher than those from boiling on a bare Ti surface.The measured maximum critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient values were 186.7 W/cm2 and 6.22 W/cm2K,respectively.Different performances for the enhancement of heat transfer by the three types of TiO2 NTAs were attributed to the different degrees of deformation in the nanostructure during boiling.Long-term performance of the nanomaterial-coated surfaces for enhanced pool boiling showed degradation of the TiO2 NTAs prepared with an anodization time of 3 hours.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51102246)the Knowledge Innovation Program of Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.Y0N5A111A1)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.Y2N5711171)
文摘Well crystallized niobium-doped TiO; nanotube arrays (TiNbO-NT) were successfully synthesized via the anodization of titanium/niobium alloy sheets, followed with a heat treatment at 550 ℃ for 2 h. Morphology analysis results demonstrated that both the titanium/niobium alloy microstructure and the dissolution strength of electrolyte played major roles in the formation of nanotube structure. A single-phase microstructure was more favorable to the formation of uniform nanotube arrays, while modulating the dissolution strength of electrolyte was required to obtain nanotube arrays from the alloys with multi-phase microstructures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) analysis results clearly demonstrated that niobium dopants (Nb^5+) were successfully doped into TiO2 anatase lattice by substituting Ti^4+ in this approach.