Cobalt( ii ) ions were adsorbed to the surface of rod-shape anatase TiO 2 nanocrystals and subsequently heated to promote ion diffusion into the nanocrystal. After removal of any remaining surface bound cobalt, a sample consisting of strictly cobalt-doped TiO 2 was obtained and characterized with powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, SQUID magnetometry, and inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The nanocrystal morphology was unchanged in the process and no new crystal phases were detected. The concentration of cobalt in the doped samples linearly correlates with the initial loading of cobalt( ii ) ions on the nanocrystal surface. Thin films of the cobalt doped TiO 2 nanocrystals were prepared on indium-tin oxide coated glass substrate, and the electrical conductivity increased with the concentration of doped cobalt. Magnetic measurements of the cobalt-doped TiO 2 nanocrystals reveal paramagnetic behavior at room temperature, and antiferromagnetic interactions between Co ions at low temperatures. Antiferromagnetism is atypical for cobalt-doped TiO 2 nanocrystals, and is proposed to arise from interstitial doping that may be favored by the diffusional doping mechanism.
A study of TiO 2 nanocrystal growth and environmental remediation capability of TiO 2 /CNC nanocomposites
Nanocellulose, which can be derived from any cellulosic biomass, has emerged as an appealing nanoscale scaffold to develop inorganic–organic nanocomposites for a wide range of applications. In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanocrystals were synthesized in the cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) scaffold using a simple approach, i.e. , hydrolysis of a titanium oxysulfate precursor in a CNC suspension at low temperature. The resulting TiO 2 nanoparticles exhibited a narrow size range between 3 and 5 nm, uniformly distributed on and strongly adhered to the CNC surface. The structure of the resulting nanocomposite was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The growth mechanism of TiO 2 nanocrystals in the CNC scaffold was also investigated by solution small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), where the results suggested the mineralization process could be described by the Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner theory for Ostwald ripening. The demonstrated TiO 2 /CNC nanocomposite system exhibited excellent performance in dye degradation and antibacterial activity, suitable for a wide range of environmental remediation applications.
- Award ID(s):
- 1808690
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10154969
- Journal Name:
- RSC Advances
- Volume:
- 9
- Issue:
- 69
- Page Range or eLocation-ID:
- 40565 to 40576
- ISSN:
- 2046-2069
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Publisher's Version of Record
- https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra08861j
