Abstract
The aim of this paper is studying the encapsulation effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs ) on the stabilizing process of titanium dioxide molecule dimers (TiO2)2. First, a theoretical study was performed concerning the guest species that are various titanium dioxide dimers. Five structures were treated as following: i) Cis (C) or ii)Trans (T) relatively to a square shaped fragment Ti2O2, iii) a mixed Tetrahedral/Pyramidal (T/P) disposition while two titanium atoms are sharing three oxygen atoms, and finally not bonded dimers in iv) parallel (P) and v) orthogonal (O) positions respectively. Only the (T), (C) and (T/P) isomers may be considered as stable compounds. The structure of the T-dimer is more stable than the Cis one by only 6.5 kcal mol-1. Typically, intra and extracyclic Ti-O bond lengths are 1.84Å and 1.61Å respectively. (T/P) dimer can be described as a metastable structure since its energy is higher than (T) one by 19 kcal mol-1. NBO analysis highlights the participation of dative bonding between oxygen lone pair and vacant titanium 3d orbitals. (P) and (O) structures represent transitory species that transform into the more stable structure which is the T-dimer. The second and principal part of this work concerns the re-optimization of the studied structures placed inside the CNT (12,0). Only (T), (C) and (P) dimers are stabilized by encapsulation through the establishment of strong interactions with the CNT wall. The (T / P) and (O) isomers which are converted into (T) and (P) dimers respectively, are leaving the nanotube while they still interacting with its edge. These favorable results are indicating in one hand the possibly detection of (T) and (C) isomers, and in another hand that the process of polymerization of the TiO2 molecule which is leading to nanostructured materials could be controlled by encapsulation within the CNTs.
Highlights
Titanium dioxide is a very interesting and active compound commonly used in industrial processes
The (T / P) and (O) isomers which are converted into (T) and (P) dimers respectively, are leaving the nanotube while they still interacting with its edge. These favorable results are indicating in one hand the possibly detection of (T) and (C) isomers, and in another hand that the process of polymerization of the TiO2 molecule which is leading to nanostructured materials could be controlled by encapsulation within the carbon nanotube (CNT)
We have shown in a recent work[25] that it is possible to confine the TiO2 molecule inside a carbon nanotube (CNT) in a stabilizing way at room temperature
Summary
Titanium dioxide is a very interesting and active compound commonly used in industrial processes. Given its photocatalytic behavior, TiO2 is one of the most promising materials for the electrode of DSSCs and is largely used for facilitating the degradation of pesticides in water under the effect of ultraviolet radiations.[14] Added to several other applications that concern sensors, and memory devices.[15,16,17,18]. For all these reasons, the isolated TiO2 molecule’s study has attracted scientists’ attention. Certain recent works have shown that it is feasible to stabilize intermediate species trapped into carbon nanotubes for relatively short lifetime.[20,21,22,23,24] We have shown in a recent work[25] that it is possible to confine the TiO2 molecule inside a carbon nanotube (CNT) in a stabilizing way at room temperature
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