Photocatalytic and Gas Sensitive Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube/TiO2-ZnO and ZnO-TiO2 Composites Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

TiO2 and ZnO single and multilayers were deposited on hydroxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes using atomic layer deposition. The bare carbon nanotubes and the resulting heterostructures were characterized by TG/DTA, Raman, XRD, SEM-EDX, XPS, TEM-EELS-SAED and low temperature nitrogen adsorption techniques, and their photocatalytic and gas sensing activities were also studied. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were uniformly covered with anatase TiO2 and wurtzite ZnO layers and with their combinations. In the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, the most beneficial structures are those where ZnO is the external layer, both in the case of single and double oxide layer covered CNTs (CNT-ZnO and CNT-TiO2-ZnO). The samples with multilayer oxides (CNT-ZnO-TiO2 and CNT-TiO2-ZnO) have lower catalytic activity due to their larger average densities, and consequently lower surface areas, compared to single oxide layer coated CNTs (CNT-ZnO and CNT-TiO2). In contrast, in gas sensing it is advantageous to have TiO2 as the outer layer. Since ZnO has higher conductivity, its gas sensing signals are lower when reacting with NH3 gas. The double oxide layer samples have higher resistivity, and hence a larger gas sensing response than their single oxide layer counterparts

Photocatalytic and Gas Sensitive Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube/TiO2-ZnO and ZnO-TiO2 Composites Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

TiO2 and ZnO single and multilayers were deposited on hydroxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes using atomic layer deposition. The bare carbon nanotubes and the resulting heterostructures were characterized by TG/DTA, Raman, XRD, SEM-EDX, XPS, TEM-EELS-SAED and low temperature nitrogen adsorption techniques, and their photocatalytic and gas sensing activities were also studied. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were uniformly covered with anatase TiO2 and wurtzite ZnO layers and with their combinations. In the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, the most beneficial structures are those where ZnO is the external layer, both in the case of single and double oxide layer covered CNTs (CNT-ZnO and CNT-TiO2-ZnO). The samples with multilayer oxides (CNT-ZnO-TiO2 and CNT-TiO2-ZnO) have lower catalytic activity due to their larger average densities, and consequently lower surface areas, compared to single oxide layer coated CNTs (CNT-ZnO and CNT-TiO2). In contrast, in gas sensing it is advantageous to have TiO2 as the outer layer. Since ZnO has higher conductivity, its gas sensing signals are lower when reacting with NH3 gas. The double oxide layer samples have higher resistivity, and hence a larger gas sensing response than their single oxide layer counterparts

Photocatalytic Properties of TiO2@Polymer and TiO2@Carbon Aerogel Composites Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

Monolithic structured TiO2/aerogel composites were prepared from resorcinol-formaldehyde polymer aerogel (RFA) and its carbon aerogel (RFCA) derivative. A resorcinol-formaldehyde hydrogel was synthesized in a sol-gel reaction and transformed into polymer aerogel by supercritical drying. The RFA was converted to carbon aerogel by pyrolysis at 900 °C in dry N2. Amorphous and crystalline TiO2 layers were grown from TiCl4 and H2O precursors by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 80 °C and 250 °C, respectively, on both RFA and RFCA. The substrates and the composites were studied by N2 adsorption, TG/DTA-MS, Raman, SEM-EDX and TEM techniques. Their photocatalytic activity was compared in the UV catalyzed decomposition reaction of methyl orange dye