Resistive Switching Memory of TiO2 Nanowire Networks Grown on Ti Foil by a Single Hydrothermal Method

The resistive switching characteristics of TiO_2 nanowire networks directly grown on Ti foil by a single-step hydrothermal technique are discussed in this paper. The Ti foil serves as the supply of Ti atoms for growth of the TiO_2 nanowires, making the preparation straightforward. It also acts as a bottom electrode for the device. A top Al electrode was fabricated by e-beam evaporation process. The Al/TiO_2 nanowire networks/Ti device fabricated in this way displayed a highly repeatable and electroforming-free bipolar resistive behavior with retention for more than 10~4 s and an OFF/ON ratio of approximately 70. The switching mechanism of this Al/TiO_2 nanowire networks/Ti device is suggested to arise from the migration of oxygen vacancies under applied electric field. This provides a facile way to obtain metal oxide nanowire-based Re RAM device in the future.

Analysis of optoelectronic properties of TiO_2 nanowiers/Si heterojunction arrays

The optoelectronic properties of n-TiO2NW/p-Si heterojunction fabricated by depositing TiO2 nanowires on a p-Si substrate are studied. Under excitation at a wavelength of 370 nm, the TiO2 nanowires produce a light emission at 435 nm due to the emission of free excitons. The I-V characteristics are measured to investigate the heterojunction effects under the dark environment and ultraviolet （UV） illumination, n-TiOzNW/p-Si has a p-n junction formed in the n-TiOz/p-Si beterojunction. TiO2NW/Si photodiode produces a pbotocurrent larger than dark current under UV illumination. It is observed that UV photons are absorbed in TiO2 and the heterojunction shows a 0.034-A/W responsivity at 4-V reverse bias.

Sensitization of Hydrothermally Grown Single Crystalline TiO2 Nanowire Array with CdSeS Nanocrystals for Photovoltaic Applications

An oriented array of electron transporting nanowires, grown directly on a transparent conductor constitutes an optimal architecture for efficient photovoltaic applications. In addition, semiconductor nanocrystals can work as efficient light absorbers because of their tunable optical properties. In this paper, we use an oriented array of TiO2 nanowires grown directly on a transparent conductive electrode and subsequently sensitized with colloidally grown CdSeS nanocrystal quantum dots （QDs）, using an efficient bi-linker assisted methodology, to demonstrate photovoltaic cells. Upon excitation with light, exciton dissociation takes place at the nanowire-nanocrystal interface, after which, electrons are transported to the fluorine-doped tin oxide （FTO） electrode via single-crystalline TiO2 nanowire channels. We demonstrate that an ex situ ligand exchange of QDs followed by sensitization on oxygen-plasma treated TiO2 nanowires results in enhanced loading of QDs, as compared to the in situ ligand exchange approach. An array of 1μm long TiO2 nanowire sensitized with CdSeS nanocrystals exhibits photovoltaic effects with a short-circuit current of 2-3 mA/cm2, an open circuit voltage of 0.6-0.7 V and a fill factor of 52-5%, resulting in devices with efficiencies of up to 0.6%.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 Nanofibers and Their Flexible Composite Films： Decomposition of Organic Dyes and Efficient H2 Generation from Ethanol-Water Mixtures

TiO2 nanofibers decorated with Pt and Pd nanoparticles have been synthesized and studied in various photocatalytic processes. Excellent photocatalytic behavior in the decomposition of organic dyes in water, degradation of organic stains on the surface of flexible freestanding cellulose/catalyst composite films and in generation of hydrogen from ethanol using both suspended and immobilized catalysts are demonstrated. The performance of the nanofiber-based TiO2 materials is competitive with and in some cases outperforms--their conventional nanoparticle-based counterparts. In all cases, Pd-decorated TiO2 nanoparticles and nanofibers proved to be more efficient than their Pt-based counterparts, which could be explained on the basis of the formation of nano-sized Schottky interfaces at the contacts between TiO2 and metal nanoparticles. The feasibility of forming cellulose/catalyst composites provides a novel way of utilizing photocatalyst materials in large-area coatings and freestanding films.

Fabrication and Growth Mechanism of Single-crystalline Rutile TiO_2 Nanowires by Liquid-phase Deposition Process in a Porous Alumina Template

TiO2 nanowire arrays were successfully fabricated by liquid-phase deposition method using porous alumina templates. The obtained TiO2 nanowires were characterized using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, field emission scanning electron microscopy （FE- SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and selected area electron diffraction （SAED） analysis. Results of electron microscopic observations indicated that the nanowires were smooth and uniform with a diameter of about 50-80 nm and several micrometers in length. SAED, Raman, and XRD mea- surements showed that TiO2 nanowires were single-crystalline with a pure rutile structure after heating at 800 ~C for 10 h. In this situation, the nanowire constituents grew preferentially along the 〈001〉 direction. Furthermore, the formation process and mechanistic study of the Ti02 nanowire arrays were proposed and discussed in detail. The nanowires are clearly produced by the deposition of TiO2 particles on the inner wall of the template nanochannels.

Effect of MWCNT Inclusion in TiO_2 Nanowire Array Film on the Photoelectrochemical Performance

Rutile TiO2 nanowire array films with multi-walled carbon nanotube （MWCNT） inclusion perpendicularly grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide （FTO） substrate were prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. The absorption edges of the TiO2 nanowire array films are blue-shifted with increasing MWCNT content. The resistance of the TiO2 nanowire array film is decreased by MWCNT inclusion. The optimum TiO2/MWCNT molar ratio in the feedstock is 1：0.1. For the TiO2 nanowire array film with MWCNT inclusion served as electrode in dye-sensitized solar cell （DSSC）, an overall 194% increase of photoelectric conversion efficiency has been achieved.

Micro-scale hierarchical photoanode for quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells based on Ti02 nanowires

This paper proposed a new architecture design for nanowire-based quantum-dot-sensitized solar cells to improve the photovoltaic performance. Microstructured rough substrate was used to increase the surface area of the photoanode without influence on charge carrier transport in the system. Compared to conventional devices, the short circuit current density and power conversion efficiency were enhanced by 50%. And the technology can be widely used in the photoelectroehemical （PEC） field, and it can be combined with other hierarchical nanostructures.

Synthesis of dispersed long single-crystalline TiO_2 paste and its application in DSSC as a scattering layer

Ti O2 nanowire(NW) is one of the potential scattering layer materials in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) owing to its fast electron conductivity and excellent light scattering property resulting from its one-dimensional(1D) morphology. However, Ti O2 NWs used as scattering layers in previous work were either aggregated or shortened into shuttles that cannot use their unique 1D properties. In this paper, we present the preparation of a well-dispersed long NW paste(exceeding 1 ?m) by a mild method and used as a scattering layer in DSSC. The paste achieved a photoconversion efficiency of 5.73% and an efficiency enhancement of 12% compared with commercial scattering layer(P200 paste). Compared with the DSSC without a scattering layer, an efficiency enhancement of 54.9% was achieved. Also, the largest efficiency of 6.89% was obtained after optimization of photoanode thickness. The photoanodes were investigated through dye desorbed experiments and transmission spectra, which suggested that P25 nanoparticles with the as-prepared NW scattering layer loaded more dye than those with P200 paste. These results indicate that well-dispersed long NW paste has a potential application in scattering layers.