Synthesis and application of TiO_2 single-crystal nanorod arrays grown by multicycle hydrothermal for dye-sensitized solar cells

TiO2 is a wide band gap semiconductor with important applications in photovoltaic cells. Vertically aligned Tit2 nanorod arrays （NRs） are grown on the fluorine-doped tin oxide （FTO） substrates by a multicycle hydrothermal synthesis process. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM）, and selected-area electron diffraction （SAED）. It is found that dye-sensitized solar cells （DSSCs） assembled by the as-prepared Tit2 single-crystal NRs exhibit different trends under the condition of different nucleation and growth concentrations. Optimum cell performance is obtained with high nucleation concentration and low growth cycle concentration. The efficiency enhancement is mainly attributed to the improved specific surface area of the nanorod.

Composite Semiconductor Quantum Dots CdSe/CdS Co-sensitized TiO_2 Nanorod Array Solar Cells

CdSe/CdS semiconductor quantum dots co-sensitized TiO2 nanorod array was fabricated on the transparent conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide （FTO） substrate using the hydrothermal and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction （SILAR） process. The structural and morphological properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The results indicate that CdSe/CdS QDs are uniformly coated on the surface of the TiO2 nanorods. The shift of light absorption edge was monitored by taking UV-visible absorption spectra. Compared with the absorption spectra of the TiO2 nanorod array, deposition of CdSe/CdS QDs shifts the absorption edge to the higher wavelength. The enhanced light absorption in the visible-light region of CdSe/CdS/TiO2 nanorod array indicates that CdSe/CdS layers can act as co-sensitizers in quantum dots sensitized solar cells （QDSSCs）. By optimizing the CdSe layer deposition cycles, a photocurrent of 5.78 mA/cm2, an open circuit photovoltage of 0.469 V and a conversion efficiency of 1.34 % were obtained under an illumination of 100 mw/cm2.

420nm thick CH_3NH_3PbI_(3-x)Br_x capping layers for efficient TiO_2 nanorod array perovskite solar cells

The rutile TiO2 nanorod arrays with 240 nm in length, 30 nm in diameter, and 420 btm 2 in areal density were prepared by the hydrothermal method to replace the typical 200-300 nm thick mesoporous TiO2 thin films in perovskite solar cells. The CH3NH3PbI3 xBrx capping layers with different thicknesses were obtained on the TiO2 nanorod arrays using different concentration PbI2.DMSO complex precursor solutions in DMF and the photovoltaic performances of the corresponding solar cells were compared. The perovskite solar cells based on 240 nm long TiO2 nanorod arrays and 420 nm thick CH3NH3PbI3 xBrx capping layers showed the best photoelectric conversion efficiency （PCE） of 15.56% and the average PCE of 14.93 ± 0.63% at the relative humidity of 50%-54% under the illumination of simulated AM 1.5 sunlight （100 mW.cm-2）.

In-situ construction of Li4Ti5O12/rutile TiO2 heterostructured nanorods for robust and high-power lithium storage

Li4Ti5O12 is considered as a safe and stable anode material for high-power lithium-ion batteries due to its“zero-strain”characteristic during the charge/discharge.However,the intrinsically low electronic conductivity leads to a deterioration in highrate performance,impeding its intensive application.Herein,the Li4Ti5O12/rutile TiO2(LTO/RT)heterostructured nanorods with tunable oxide phases have been in-situ fabricated by annealing the electrospun nanofiber precursor.By constructing such a heterostructured interface,the as-prepared sample delivers a high capacity of 160.3 mAh·g–1 at 1 C after 200 cycles,125.5 mAh·g–1 at 10 C after 500 cycles and a superior capacity retention of 90.3%after 1,000 cycles at 30 C,outperforming the heterostructure-free counterparts of pure LTO,RT and the commercial LTO product.Density Functional Theory calculation suggests a possible synergistic effect of the LTO/RT interface that would improve the electronic conductivity and Li-ion diffusion.

A titanium dioxide nanorod array as a high-affinity nano-bio interface of a microfluidic device for efficient capture of circulating tumor cells

Nanomaterials show promising opportunities to address clinical problems （such as insufficient capture of circulating tumor cells; CTCs） via the high surface area-to-volume ratio and high affinity for biological cells. However, how to apply these nanomaterials as a nano-bio interface in a microfluidic device for efficient CTC capture with high specificity remains a challenge. In the present work, we first found that a titanium dioxide （TiO2） nanorod array that can be conveniently prepared on multiple kinds of substrates has high affinity for tumor cells. Then, the TiO2 nanorod array was vertically grown on the surface of a microchannel with hexagonally patterned Si micropillars via a hydrothermal reaction, forming a new kind of a micro-nano 3D hierarchically structured microfluidic device. The vertically grown TiO2 nanorod array was used as a sensitive nano-bio interface of this 3D hierarchically structured microfluidic device, which showed high efficiency of CTC capture （76.7% ± 7.1%） in an artificial whole-blood sample.