Titanium Dioxide and Its Applications in Mechanical, Electrical, Optical, and Biomedical Fields

Titanium dioxide (TiO2), owing to its non-toxicity, chemical stability, and low cost, is one of the most valuable ceramic materials. TiO2 derived coatings not only act like a ceramic protective shield for the metallic substrate but also provide cathodic protection to the metals against the corrosive solution under Ultraviolet (UV) illumination. Being biocompatible, TiO2 coatings are widely used as an implant material. The acid treatment of TiO2 promotes the attachment of cells and bone tissue integration with the implant. In this chapter, the applications of TiO2 as a corrosion inhibitor and bioactive material are briefly discussed. The semiconducting nature and high refractive index of TiO2 conferred UV shielding properties, allowing it to absorb or reflect UV rays. Several studies showed that a high ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) was achieved by incorporating TiO2 in the sunscreens (to protect the human skin) and textile fibers (to minimize its photochemical degradation). The rutile phase of TiO2 offers high whiteness, and opacity owing to its tendency to scatter light. These properties enable TiO2 to be used as a pigment a brief review of which is also addressed in this chapter. Since TiO2 exhibits high hardness and fracture toughness, the wear rate of composite is considerably reduced by adding TiO2. On interacting with gases like hydrogen at elevated temperatures, the electrical resistance of TiO2 changes to some different value. The change in resistance can be utilized in detecting various gases that enables TiO2 to be used as a gas sensor for monitoring different gases. This chapter attempts to provide a comprehensive review of applications of TiO2 as an anti-corrosion, wear-resistant material in the mechanical field, a UV absorber, pigment in the optical sector, a bioactive material in the biomedical field, and a gas sensor in the electrical domain

Multilayered and Chemiresistive Thin and Thick Film Gas Sensors for Air Quality Monitoring

Selective detection of gases such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and various volatile organic components (VOCs) is necessary for air quality monitoring. Detection of hydrogen (H2) is equally important as it is a flammable gas and poses serious threat of explosion when exposed to oxygen gas. We have studied the sensing characteristics of these gases using thin film deposited by chemical solution deposition as well as relatively thicker films deposited by atmospheric plasma spray (APS) process. The chapter starts with the sensing mechanism of chemiresistive sensors followed by the definition of gas sensing parameters. Subsequently, we have demonstrated selective NO2 sensing characteristics of zinc oxide-graphene (ZnO-G) multilayered thin film followed by CO and H2 sensing characteristics of ZnO thin film and SnO2 thick film. Cross-sensitivity among CO and H2 gases has been addressed through the analysis of conductance transients with the determination of activation energy, Ea, and heat of adsorption, Q. The concepts of reversible and irreversible sensing have also been discussed in relation to CO and H2 gases. CO2 sensing characteristics of LaFe0.8Co0.2O3 (LFCO)-ZnO thin film have been elucidated. Interference from CO has been addressed with principal component analyses and the ascertaining of Ea and Q values. Additionally, the variation of response with temperature for each gas was simulated to determine distinct parameters for the individual gases. Further, VOC sensing characteristics of copper oxide (CuO) thin film and WO3-SnO2 thick film were investigated. Principal component analysis was performed to discriminate the gases in CuO thin film. The interaction of WO3-SnO2 thick film with various VOCs was found to obey the Freundlich adsorption isotherm based on which Ea and Q values were determined