Gihoon Cha

Free-Standing Membranes to Study the Optical Properties of Anodic TiO2 Nanotube Layers.

In the present work we investigate various optical properties (such as light absorption and reflectance) of anodic TiO2 nanotube layers directly transferred as self-standing membranes onto quartz substrates. This allows investigation in a transmission geometry which provides significantly more reliable data than measurements on the metallic Ti substrate. Light transmission and reflectance measurements were carried out for layers of thickness varying from 1.8 to 50 μm, and the layers were investigated in their amorphous and crystalline forms. A series of wavelength-dependent light attenuation coefficients are extrapolated and found to match the photocurrent versus irradiation wavelength behavior. A feature specific to anodic nanotubes is that their intrinsic carbon contamination content causes a proportional sub-bandgap response. Overall, the extracted data provide a valuable basis and understanding for the design of photo-electrochemical devices based on TiO2 nanotubes.

TiO2 nanotubes with different spacing, Fe2O3 decoration and their evaluation for Li-ion battery application

In the present work, we report on the use of organized TiO2 nanotube (NT) layers with a regular intertube spacing for the growth of highly defined α-Fe2O3 nano-needles in the interspace. These α-Fe2O3 decorated TiO2 NTs are then explored for Li-ion battery applications and compared to classic close-packed (CP) NTs that are decorated with various amounts of nanoscale α-Fe2O3. We show that NTs with tube-to-tube spacing allow uniform decoration of individual NTs with regular arrangements of hematite nano-needles. The tube spacing also facilitates the electrolyte penetration as well as yielding better ion diffusion. While bare CP NTs show a higher capacitance of 71 μAh cm-2 compared to bare spaced NTs with a capacitance of 54 μAh cm-2, the hierarchical decoration with secondary metal oxide, α-Fe2O3, remarkably enhances the Li-ion battery performance. Namely, spaced NTs with α-Fe2O3 decoration have an areal capacitance of 477 μAh cm-2, i.e. they have nearly ∼8 times higher capacitance. However, the areal capacitance of CP NTs with α-Fe2O3 decoration saturates at 208 μAh cm-2, i.e. is limited to ∼3 times increase.

Double-Side Cocatalytic Activation of Anodic TiO2 Nanotube Membranes with Sputter-Coated Pt for Photocatalytic H2 Generation from Water-Ethanol Mixtures.

Self-standing TiO2 nanotube layers in the form of membranes are fabricated by self-organizing anodization of Ti metal and a potential shock technique. The membranes are then decorated by sputtering different Pt amounts i) only at the top, ii) only at the bottom or iii) at both top and bottom of the tube layers. The Pt-decorated membranes are transferred either in tube top-up or in tube top-down configuration onto FTO slides and are investigated, after crystallization, as photocatalysts for H2 generation using either front or back-side light irradiation. Double-side Pt-decoration of the tube membranes leads to higher H2 generation rates (independently of tube and light-irradiation configuration) compared to membranes decorated at only one side with similar overall Pt amounts. The results suggest that this effect cannot be only ascribed to the overall amount of Pt co-catalyst as such but also to its distribution at both tube extremities. This leads to optimized light absorption and electron diffusion/transfer dynamics: the central part of the membranes acts as light-harvesting zone and electrons therein generated can diffuse towards the Pt/TiO2 active zones (tube extremities) where they can react with the environment and generate H2 .