Black carbon-doped TiO2 films: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalysis

This research is funded by the European Social Fund according to the activity ‘Improvement of researchers’ qualification by implementing world-class R&D projects’ of Measure No. 09.3.3-LMT- K-712, project „Investigation of the application of TiO2 and ZnO for the visible light assisted photocatalytical disinfection of the biologically contaminated water“ (09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0175). The authors express gratitude for the S. Tuckute, M. Urbonavicius, G. Laukaitis and K. Bockute for their valuable input in current work. © 2019. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.Black colour TiO2 films were synthesized on amorphous fused silica substrates by DC magnetron sputtering technique with carbon powders placed at the working magnetron surface. Comprehensive sample analysis by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the rutile/anatase heterostructure TiO2 films were successfully formed. Moreover, observation of Osingle bondTisingle bondC bonds confirmed that TiO2 phase was doped by carbon additives. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to identify the effect of deposition time and TiO2 film thickness on the surface morphology, roughness and crystallite size. Results of electron spin resonance showed that oxygen vacancies were generated on the surface with trapped unpaired electrons. Optical analysis by UV–vis light spectrophotometer showed that TiO2 films with carbon additives improve its capability to absorb visible light. Accordingly, methylene blue bleaching experiments under UVsingle bondA and visible light irradiation showed that black colour TiO2 films are capable to decompose methylene blue solution at both UVsingle bondA and visible light irradiation.----/ / /---- This is the preprint of the following article: Sarunas Varnagiris, Arturs Medvids, Martynas Lelis, Darius Milcius, Andris Antuzevics, Black carbon-doped TiO2 films: Synthesis, characterization and photocatalysis, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry Volume 382, 1 September 2019, 111941 (2019), DOI 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2019.111941, which has been published at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1010603019303442. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Elsevier Terms and Conditions for Sharing and Self-Archiving. This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.European Social Fund 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0175; Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART²

Hardening of Steel Perforated Tape by Nd:YAG Laser

One of the directions of application of the perforated metal material is their use as cutting elements in the production of processing tools. In this case it is necessary to carry out hardening of cutting surfaces to increase their hardness. One of the methods of hardening metals could be laser treatment. Therefore, the present work is a study of the effect of Nd:YAG laser radiation on the microstructure and hardness of fragments formed from steel perforated tape. Different laser scan speeds (doses) were used in the experiments. The results have shown that the increase the microhardness of 30-40% after the laser treatment of steel perforated tape in the surface layer in a depth range up to 1 μm take place. The studies of microstructure of fragments formed from steel perforated tape have shown the reduction of the structure size and the presence of a thin oxide compounds, which is consistent with the results on nanoindentation. Hardening of the metal by laser radiation is carried out without surface melting which eliminates the change of macroroughness and the need for subsequent machining process.Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2 under grant agreement No. 739508, project CAMART

Effect of deposition temperature on the growth mechanism of chemically prepared CZTGeS thin films

The Cu2ZnSnGeS4 (CZTGeS) thin films were deposited by the spray pyrolysis method at different substrate temperatures without further sulfurization. The influence of various deposition temperatures on the surface morphology, microstructure, optical properties, chemical, and phase composition were investigated. The substitution mechanism of Sn/Ge in the crystal lattice of CZTGeS depending on deposition temperatures was studied. It was shown that a variation in substrate temperature has a strong effect on the surface morphology of the films. The X‐ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) analysis showed that CZTGeS films were polycrystalline with a kesterite‐type single‐phase structure and a preferential orientation of (112). The RS‐mapping analysis showed the distribution of intensities on the surfaces of the films. Optical measurements showed that CZTGeS films are highly absorbing in the visible region, and the optical band gap is shifted from 1.89 to 1.84 eV

Raman Characterisation of Cd1−xZnx Te Thick Polycrystalline Films Obtained by the Close-Spaced Sublimation

In this work, we studied the Raman spectra of thick polycrystalline Cd1-xZnx Te (CZT) films with x ranged from 0.06 to 0.68. Additionally, the surface morphology and structural properties were studied in order to determine the crystalline quality of the samples. The Raman spectra had a two-mode behavior typical for CZT solid solution and showed CdTe- and ZnTe-like longitudinal and transverse optical modes. The relationship between the frequencies of CdTe- and ZnTe-related modes on x was studied. We observed the deviation of the compositional dependence of phonon mode frequencies for polycrystalline CZT films in comparison with a similar dependence for CZT single crystals. Such deviation was caused by the effect of structural defects in polycrystalline films on frequencies of vibrational modes. The values of excitation wavelength, which allow achieving of high signal-to-noise ratio on the Raman spectra of CZT films with different zinc concentration in the result of resonant enhancement of phonon modes intensities, were experimentally determined

Quantum Prism—Nano Source of Light with Dispersive Spectrum and Optical Upconversion

A quantum prism, a new structure, consisting of many quantum wires with a diameter that gradually decreases from the base to the top, is the focus of our research. This distribution of quantum wires leads to a dispersive emitted spectrum. The red edge of the spectrum is determined by the band gap width of the bulk semiconductor, and the blue edge is determined by the quantum size of the excitons at the top of the prism. The PL spectrum of the silicon prismatic sample was excited by weak and strong light absorption. At weak absorption (hνex = 1.2 eV), the PL spectrum is located in the visible part of the spectrum, from 1.4 eV to 1.9 eV, with an energy higher than the band gap of the Si crystal. Such a “blue shift” of PL spectra by 0.7 eV is characteristic of the quantum confinement effect. It is a rainbow spectrum with an optical upconversion. The quantum prism is a new type of nano light source, as it replaces two elements in a conventional spectrometer: a light source and a dispersive element. These features enable to create a nano-spectrometer for measuring the absorption spectrum of individual molecules or viruses

Oxidized Graphite Nanocrystals for White Light Emission

We investigated the formation of graphite nanocrystals covered with graphite oxide for white light generation. The nanoparticles were formed using cost-efficient oxidation of a carbon-based dye pigment at different temperatures and verified using X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements. Formation of the graphite nanoparticles via thermal annealing was observed, while their light emission increased at higher oxidation temperatures. This was associated with a higher amount of oxygen defect groups. The time-resolved photoluminescence measurements showed linearly faster decays at shorter wavelengths and similar decays at different annealing temperatures. Broadband and linear vs. excitation emission spectra of the particles were found to be suitable for white-light-emitting devices and phosphor markers. The fast photoluminescence decay opens the possibility for the application of nanoparticles in optical wireless communication technology

Anatase or rutile TiO2 nanolayer formation on Ti substrates by laser radiation: Mechanical, photocatalytic and antibacterial properties

A laser-induced oxidation method for the formation of a TiO2 layer on a Ti substrate was used. The TiO2 phase can be controlled by an Nd:YAG laser with fundamental frequency at an intensity I = 52.8 MW/cm2 and three different doses. Dose D1 = 3.1x1020 phot/cm2 forms a TiO2 layer in the anatase phase, which possesses the highest photocatalytic, antibacterial and adhesion properties. As the laser dose increases, the TiO2 layer thickness increases from 40 nm to 100 nm, but the photocatalytic decomposition reaction constant decreases. The observed super-linear increase of the TiO2 layer thickness with the laser dose is explained by the presence of positive feedback during the irradiation process. The temperature rises with increasing of the thickness due to the interference-caused decrease of the reflection coefficient. As the thickness increases, TiO2 on Ti structure adhesion decreases from 800 mN to 400 mN due to the formation of a layer with a mixture of phases. The colonization intensities of P. aeruginosa and S. epidermidis bacteria decrease more than tenfold after TiO2 formation. These results are explained by the partial transformation of the TiO2 layer, formed in the anatase phase at dose D1, into the rutile one at doses D2 and D3 due to a deficit of O atoms caused by the low diffusion of O atoms in Ti. According to our experiments and calculations, using the Wagner oxide model, the laser technology can be used to form crystalline structures with a monolayer precisionLietuvos energetikos institutasVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij

Magnetic Field Penetration of Niobium Thin Films Produced by the ARIES Collaboration

Superconducting (SC) thin film coatings on Cu substrates are already widely used as an alternative to bulk Nb SRF structures. Using Cu allows improved thermal stability compared to Nb due to having a greater thermal conductivity. Niobium thin film coatings also reduce the amount of Nb required to produce a cavity. The performance of thin film Nb cavities is not as good as bulk Nb cavities. The H2020 ARIES WP15 collaboration studied the impact of substrate polishing and the effect produced on Nb thin film depositions. Multiple samples were produced from Cu and polished with various techniques. The polished Cu substrates were then coated with a Nb film at partner institutions. These samples were characterised with surface characterisation techniques for film morphology and structure. The SC properties were studied with 2 DC techniques, a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a magnetic field penetration (MFP) facility. The results conclude that both chemical polishing and electropolishing produce the best DC properties in the MFP facility. A comparison between the VSM and the MFP facility can be made for 10 $\mu$m thick samples, but not for 3 $\mu$m thick samples

Impact of the Cu Substrate Surface Preparation on the Morphological, Superconductive and RF Properties of the Nb Superconductive Coatings

Nowadays, one of the main issues of the superconducting thin film resonant cavities is the Cu surface preparation. A better understanding of the impact of copper surface preparation on the morphological, superconductive (SC) and RF properties of the coating, is mandatory in order to improve the performances of superconducting cavities by coating techniques. ARIES H₂020 collaboration includes a specific work package (WP15) to study the influence of Cu surface polishing on the SRF performances of Nb coatings that involves a team of 8 research groups from 7 different countries. In the present work, a comparison of 4 different polishing processes for Cu (Tumbling, EP, SUBU, EP+SUBU) is presented through the evaluation of the SC and morphological properties of Nb thin film coated on Cu planar samples and QPR samples, polished with different procedures. Effects of laser annealing on Nb thin films have also been studied. Different surface characterizations have been applied: roughness measurements, SEM, EDS, XRD, AFM, and thermal and photo-stimulated exoelectrons measurements. SC properties were evaluated with PPMS, and QPR measurements will be carry out at HZB in the beginning of 2019