TiO2 Nanowires Research Articles

Advancing Breath‐Based Diagnostics: 3D Mesh SERS Sensor Via Dielectrophoretic Alignment of Solution‐Processed Au Nanoparticle‐Decorated TiO2 Nanowires

AbstractSurface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is becoming an attractive analytical technique for the next generation of breath diagnostics. However, current SERS substrates present challenges related to fabrication cost, complexity, signal uniformity, and reproducibility. Here, a low‐cost, label‐free SERS sensor based on fully solution‐processed decoration of TiO2 nanowires is demonstrated (NW) with plasmonic Au nanoparticles (NP) followed by the dielectrophoretic self‐assembly into a 3D mesh with high signal to noise ratio. The sensor performance is tested using 4‐aminothiophenol (4‐ATP) as a model analyte in gas phase, at concentrations down to 10 ppbv, and in solution, with limit of detection ≈2.4 pM. Finally, to explore the sensor capability for breath‐based diagnostics, a proof‐of‐concept experiment is performed with exhaled breath condensates (EBCs). The possibility to discriminate EBCs of individuals with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) from healthy ones is demonstrated. Multiple SERS spectra (n≈50) from each sample are analyzed using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA), which identifies spectral features representative of URTI in up to 80% of the infection‐related spectra. These results demonstrate the applicability and potential of 1D nanomaterials together with state‐of‐the‐art solution‐processed techniques for the development of low‐cost and compact SERS breath‐based diagnostic platforms for clinical point‐of‐care applications.

Efficient flexible dye-sensitized solar cells from rear illumination based on different morphologies of titanium dioxide photoanode

The TiO2 with nanoparticles (NPs), nanowires (NWs), nanorods (NRs) and nanotubes (NTs) structures were prepared by using a in-situ hydrothermal technique, and then proposed as a photoanode for flexible dye-sensitized solar cell (FDSSC). The influences of the morphology of TiO2 on the photovoltaic performances of FDSSCs were investigated. Under rear illumination of 100 mW·cm−2, the power conversion efficiencies of FDSSCs achieved 6.96%, 7.36%, 7.65%, and 7.83% with the TiO2 photoanodes of NPs, NWs, NRs, and NTs and PEDOT counter electrode. The FDSSCs based on TiO2 NRs and NTs photoanodes have higher short circuit current densities and power conversion efficiencies than that of the others. The enhanced power conversion efficiency is responsible for their nanotubes and rod-shaped ordered structures, which are more beneficial to transmission of electron and hole in semiconductor compared to the TiO2 nanoparticles and nanowires disordered structure.

Defect Engineering Promoted Ultrafine Ir Nanoparticle Growth and Sr Single‐Atom Adsorption on TiO2 Nanowires to Achieve High‐Performance Overall Water Splitting in Acidic Media

AbstractThis work reports the use of the metal‐support interaction strengthening through defect engineering and single atom adsorption to the supports to increase the catalytic activities of metals. Specifically, the plasma treated TiO2 nanowires with the Ir nanoparticle growth and the Sr single atom adsorption (the Ir@Sr‐p‐TiO2 NWs) are synthesized and demonstrated to be efficient catalysts for OER and HER. They only need overpotentials of 250 and 32 mV to drive 10 mA cm−2 for OER and HER, respectively. Their OER and HER activities are much higher than the commercial IrO2 and Pt/C. The high activities of the Ir@Sr‐p‐TiO2 NWs mainly arise from the strengthened metal‐support interactions between the Ir nanoparticles and the p‐TiO2 NWs, achieved by the plasma generated oxygen defects (Vo·) and the Sr adsorption on the p‐TiO2 NWs. Analysis and DFT calculations indicate that the Vo· and Sr adsorption can promote the charge transfer from the p‐TiO2 NWs to the Ir nanoparticles, optimizing the adsorptions of the OER and HER intermediates on the O‐ and H‐covered Ir nanoparticles. Additionally, the strong metal‐support interactions can increase the stabilities of the Ir NPs against the chemical corrosions, increasing the OER and HER durabilities of the Ir@Sr‐p‐TiO2 NWs.

Monolithic Microparticles Facilitated Flower-Like TiO2 Nanowires for High Areal Capacity Flexible Li-Ion Batteries.

Flexible lithium-ion batteries (FLIBs) are intensively studied using free-standing transition metal oxides (TMOs)-based anode materials. However, achieving high areal capacity TMO-based anode materials is yet to be effectively elucidated owing to the poor adhesion of the active materials to the flexible substrate resulting in low active mass loading, and hence low areal capacity is realized. Herein, a novel monolithic rutile TiO2 microparticles on carbon cloth (ATO/CC) that facilitate the flower-like arrangement of TiO2 nanowires (denoted ATO/CC/OTO) is demonstrated as high areal capacity anode for FLIBs. The optimized ATO/CC/OTO anode exhibits high areal capacity (5.02 mAh cm-2@0.4mA cm-2) excellent rate capability (1.17 mAh cm-2@5.0mA cm-2) and remarkable cyclic stability (over 500 cycles). A series of morphological, kinetic, electrochemical, in situ Raman, and theoretical analyses reveal that the rational phase boundaries between the microparticles and nanowires contribute to promoting the Li storage activity. Furthermore, a 16.0 cm2 all-FLIB pouch cell assembled based on the ATO/CC/OTO anode and LiNiCoMnO2 cathode coated on ATO/CC (ATO/CC/LNCM) exhibits impressive flexibility under different folding conditions, creating opportunity for the development of high areal capacity anodes in future flexible energy storage devices.

Facile in-situ synthesis of Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 nanowires toward simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid, dopamine and uric acid

The development of electrochemical sensors with high sensitivity for the simultaneous detection of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) is urgently desirable in clinical medicine. However, the challenge lies in achieving simultaneous detection due to their closely oxidation potentials. In this work, we present the synthesis of a composite material comprised of in-situ grown TiO2 nanowires (NWs) on a Ti3C2Tx substrate (Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 NWs) through a facile alkali process. By modifying a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 NWs (Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 NWs/GCE), it showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for the simultaneous detection of AA/DA/UA by regulating the surface functional groups of Ti3C2Tx. Remarkably, the Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 NWs/GCE enabled simultaneous detection of AA in the range of 300–1800 μM, DA in the range of 2–33 μM, and UA in the range of 2–33 μM. The limits of detection (LODs) for AA, DA, and UA were estimated as 6.61 μM, 0.093 μM, and 0.038 μM, respectively. The proposed Ti3C2Tx/TiO2 NWs/GCE demonstrated good stability, high selectivity, reliable reproducibility and satisfactory recovery results in real samples, making it a promising electrochemical sensor for the detection of AA, DA, and UA. This work offers a new perspective for human health monitoring, paving the way for advancements in this field.

Top-down surfactant-free electrosynthesis of magnéli phase Ti9O17 nanowires

A simple electrochemical surfactant-free top-down methodology for the synthesis of nanowires with non-stoichiometric Magnéli phase Ti9O17 is presented.

Nanowire electroporation-induced cell pores on antibiotic-resistant bacteria to promote chlorine permeation for eliminating intracellular antibiotic resistance genes

Conventional chlorination (Cl2) is inefficient to eliminate intracellular antibiotic resistance genes (i-ARGs) of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) due to the chlorine permeation barrier and oxidative competition of cell wall/membrane. Herein, we proposed an efficient strategy by constructing synergistic nanowire-induced electroporation (DC-EP) and Cl2 (DC-EP/Cl2) with H2-reduced TiO2 nanowire (TiOxNW) electrodes, attempting to promote i-ARG removal via DC-EP-induced cell damage for chlorine permeation and i-ARG leakage. DC-EP/Cl2 (∼3.7 log and ∼ 60.5 J/L/log) exhibited excellent synergistic effects for ARB inactivation (Escherichia coli) and i-ARG removal (tet(W), aac(3)-II, and blaTEM–1), which achieved much larger i-ARG removal and lower energy consumption than the individual 1.5 V-DC-EP (∼0.05 log) and 10 mg/L-Cl2 (∼0.5 log and ∼ 262.0 J/L/log). Analyses of i-ARG/e-ARG abundances, bacterial cell integrity, and cell morphology indicated that DC-EP-induced cell pores provided channels of chlorine permeation, which was accompanied with oxidative enlargement of cell pores for i-ARG leakage and subsequent degradation. DC-EP/Cl2 exhibited 15–90 times lower frequency of horizontal gene transfer than the individual Cl2 disinfection. The TiOxNW-based DC-EP/Cl2 exhibited excellent stability of i-ARG removal (undetectable ARG abundance and ∼ 20.3 J/L/log) for treating 103 CFU/mL ARB-contaminated tap water within 7-day continuous operation, suggesting its great application potential to alleviate ARG dissemination risk for drinking water.

Near-Atomic-Scale Perspective on the Oxidation of Ti3 C2 Tx MXenes: Insights from Atom Probe Tomography.

MXenes are a family of 2D transition metal carbides and nitrides with remarkable properties, bearing great potential for energy storage and catalysis applications. However, their oxidation behavior is not yet fully understood, and there are still open questions regarding the spatial distribution and precise quantification of surface terminations, intercalated ions, and possible uncontrolled impurities incorporated during synthesis and processing. Here, atom probe tomography (APT) analysis of as-synthesized Ti3 C2 Tx MXenes reveals the presence of alkali (Li, Na) and halogen (Cl, F) elements as well as unetched Al. Following oxidation of the colloidal solution of MXenes, it is observed that the alkalis are enriched in TiO2 nanowires. Although these elements are tolerated through the incorporation by wet chemical synthesis, they are often overlooked when the activity of these materials is considered, particularly during catalytic testing. This work demonstrates how the capability of APT to image these elements in 3D at the near-atomic scale can help to better understand the activity and degradation of MXenes, in order to guide their synthesis for superior functionalproperties.

Synergistic Effect of Nickel Nanoparticles Dispersed on MOF-Derived Defective Co3O4 In Situ Grown over TiO2 Nanowires toward UV and Visible Light Driven Photothermal CO2 Methanation.

Catalytic CO2 hydrogenation is an effective approach to producing clean fuels, but this process is expensive, in addition to the low efficiency of catalysts. Thus, photothermal CO2 hydrogenation can effectively utilize solar energy for CH4 production. Metal-organic framework (MOF) derived materials with a controlled structure and morphology are promising to give a high number of active sites and photostability in thermal catalytic reactions. For the first time, a novel heterostructure catalyst was synthesized using a facile approach to in situ grow MOF-derived 0D Co3O4 over 1D TiO2 nanowires (NWs). The original 3D dodecahedral structure of the MOF is engineered into novel 0D Co3O4 nanospheres, which were uniformly embedded over Ni-dispersed 1D TiO2 NWs. In situ prepared 10Ni-7Co3O4@TiO2 NWs-I achieved an excellent photothermal CH4 evolution rate of 8.28 mmol/h at 250 °C under low-intensity visible light, whereas UV light treatment further increased activity by 1.2-fold. UV irradiations promoted high CH4 production while improving the susceptibility of the catalyst to visible light irradiation. The photothermal effect is prominent at lower temperatures, due to the harmonization of both solar and thermal energy. By paralleling with mechanically assembled 10Ni-7Co3O4/TiO2 NWs-M, the catalytic performance of the in situ approach is far superior, attributing to the morphological transformation of 0D Co3O4, which induced intimate interfacial interactions, formation of oxygen vacancies and boosted photo-to-thermal effects. The co-existence of metallic/metal oxide Ni-Co provided beneficial synergies, enhanced photo-to-thermal effects, and improved charge transfer kinetics of the composite. This work uncovers a facile approach to engineering the morphology of MOF derivatives for efficient photothermal CO2 methanation.

Construction and photovoltaic performances of transport layer/quantum dot/transport layer sandwich nanowire arrays

The one-dimensionally ordered nanowire array with shell-core structure is an important mean to improve the photovoltaic performances of solar cells, where the core nanowire arrays can provide not only more specific surface areas, but also directional transport channels for carriers. In this work, the photovoltaic nanomaterials of transport layer/quantum dot/transport layer sandwich nanowire arrays are envisioned based on the characteristics of one-dimensionalized shell-core structure. Taking the commonly used TiO2 nanowire arrays, NiO nanofilms and lead sulfide quantum dots as electron transport material, hole transport material and absorbing layer, TiO2/PbS/NiO sandwich nanowire arrays were prepared by hydrothermal, spin-SILAR and sputtering. By the analysis of their photovoltaic performances, we found that the device has excellent broad spectrum (200–2600 nm) optical absorption and sensitive photoelectric effect with PCE reaching 6.98 %, which can fully confirm the feasibility of the transport layer/quantum dot/transport layer sandwich nanowire arrays. This will provide a new idea and basis for the development of sandwich nanowire arrays in the field of photovoltaics.

Silver Nanoparticles/Titanium Dioxide Nanowires Photocatalyst Formation for Microplastic Removal Using Ultraviolet Radiation

Microplastic is the most problematic persistent pollutants in the environment despite of its unique properties for various life application. The objective is to investigate the feasibility and practicability of the nanostructured TiO2 coupling with noble metal in removal polypropylene (PP) microplastics. The TiO2 nanowires (NWs) were synthesized by thermal oxidation of Ti foil under various mixed oxidation environments. TiO2 NWs were successfully grown uniformly and with full coverage over the foil under the condition of ramping in KOH mist and soaking in water vapour at 700 °C for 120 minutes. Heterojunction photocatalyst of Ag/TiO2 NWs was formed using wet impregnation method. Small quantity of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) was attached onto the TiO2 nanowires. The photocatalytic efficiency of the synthesized Ag/TiO2 NWs photocatalyst was tested upon removal of PP microplastic from non-static water bodies under UV irradiation. Coupling Ag NPs with TiO2 NWs have better photocatalytic performance than those without Ag NPs from the reduction of weight loss and the possibility of presence of carbonyl group.

Preparation of a flexible photoanode of the photoelectrochemical ultraviolet photodetector based on rutile TiO2 nanowires and the suppressed charge recombination at solid/liquid interface

Flexible ultraviolet (UV) photodetector exhibits a promising application in portable electronic gadgets, display devices and biomedical imaging. In this study, a flexible photoanode of the photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type UV photodetector based on rutile TiO2 nanowires (TiO2 NWs) grown on carbon fiber cloth is realized. In photovoltaic applications, an insulating layer is usually introduced to suppress interfacial recombination and reduce the surface trap states. The interfacial recombination of semiconductor/electrolyte is suppressed by coating an Al2O3 barrier layer on the TiO2 NWs. The photodetectors of the TiO2@Al2O3 NWs show stable photocurrent, a high light/dark current ratio (I light/I dark) of 1170, a faster rise and decay response times of 0.09 and 0.09 s, and excellent spectral selectivity from 300 to 400 nm. The peak responsivity of the photodetectors reaches 2.8 mA W−1 at 360 nm. This flexible photoanode have a potential application in wearable PEC UV photodetector.

High toughness, UV & blue light shielding and antibacterial bio-based PEF/TiO2 nanowires composites for packaging application

As a candidate of fossil-based poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), bio-based poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) that could be converted from renewable resources has attracted attention from academia and industry. Here, we prepare a series of new type of PEF/TiO2 NWs composites from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), ethylene glycol (EG), titanium dioxide nanowire (TiO2 NWs, diameter∼100 nm, length∼20 µm) and dipentaerythritol (Di-PE) via in-situ polymerization. The TiO2 nanowires (0.5∼10 wt‰ based on PEF) and Di-PE (3 mol‰ based on FDCA) were added as fillers and extenders. TiO2 nanowires were distributed in the PEF uniformly, shown by SEM. Compared with pure PEF, the Tg and thermal stability of all nanocomposites got improved. And the impact strength of nanocomposites could reach 60 kJ/m2 in contrast to brittle pure PEF. The UV-A and blue-light shielding of nanocomposites increased from 53 % to 98 % and 28 % to 86 %, respectively, and the nanocomposites still maintained good gas barrier properties. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of nanocomposites against E. coli had increased to 98 %, better than that of the PEF/Ag NWs composites. By uniaxial pre-stretching, the tensile modulus and the elongation at break were improved obviously, from 1840 MPa to 5466 MPa and 4 % to 54 % respectively with pre-stretching ratio increasing. Compared to the PET/TiO2 NWs composites, the PEF/TiO2 NWs composites shows batter thermal property and mechanical property. The PEF/TiO2 NWs composites exhibit potential foreground in the packaging application.

Comparison study of the effects of different synthesis methods towards [formula omitted] nanowires’ morphology and catalytic activity on the 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction

Ways to process 4-nitrophenol in wastewater have been developed, including the catalyzed reduction reaction that produces 4-aminophenol. Silver nanoparticles, containing one of the noble metals that are commonly used as heterogeneous catalysts, are a good option for reducing 4-nitrophenol. In this research, silver oxide was attached to the surface of TiO2 nanowires as the catalyst support. The Ag2O loading onto the TiO2 nanowires was achieved using three different methods, which are molten-salt, precipitation and impregnation. This study aims to evaluate how these different synthesis techniques affect the structure and morphology of the catalysts, along with their resulting catalytic activities. From the characterizations and analysis, it was observed that the synthesis method affects certain catalyst properties. It was found that impregnation loading of Ag2O onto TiO2 nanowires produced a catalyst that demonstrated the optimum catalytic performance, with a rate constant of 2.71 × 10−2 s−1, as reviewed from its reaction rate compared to the other samples.

Reduced graphene oxide supported Ag-loaded brookite TiO2 nanowires: Enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance and electrochemical energy storage applications

Here, silver (Ag) nanoparticle-loaded brookite titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were successfully produced by a facile, one-step hydrothermal technique. The properties of fabricated nanowires were analyzed using XRD, FESEM, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, FTIR, Raman, UV–Vis and PL spectroscopy. SEM and TEM results indicated the nanodimensional structure of all samples. Photocatalytic performance of as-obtained Ag-TiO2/rGO nanohybrid exhibited an excellent photocatalytic performance in comparison with pure TiO2 NWs and Ag-TiO2 composite as evaluated through photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light illumination. The electrochemical properties of pure TiO2 nanowires, and Ag NPs loaded TiO2 NWs composite, and the ternary Ag-TiO2/rGO nanohybrid were investigated through cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance measurements and analysis. The present findings recommend that ternary Ag-TiO2/rGO nanohybrid provides a promising direction for the development of high quality, effective and reliable photocatalytic and electrode material for organic dyes degradation and hybrid supercapacitors respectively.

Dual S-scheme SnO2/TiO2(A)/TiO2(R) nanowires for visible-light-driven naphthalene complete degradation

Ternary heterojunctions SnO2/TiO2(A)/TiO2(R) nanowires with excellent photocatalytic activity following dual S-scheme mechanism in the naphthalene visible-light-driven degradation were successfully prepared by a simple alkaline hydrothermal method for the first time in the paper. The physical and chemical properties were characterized by XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, ICP, UV–vis DRS, FT-IR, TEM, XPS and PL emission spectra, and the photochemical properties were also conducted by Photocurrent response spectra, EIS and ESR techniques. The nanowires with about 50–500 nm in width and 10 μm in length would be obtained by the successful incorporation of tin species into the diphasic TiO2 framework. The integrated flexible membrane for the 10-STNBs nanowires can be easily peeled from the filter paper and it can be repeatedly bent for several times resulting from the nanowires disordered stacking layer by layer, and naphthalene can be completely degraded in the 220 min owing to the restricted recombination rate of photogenerated charge, lower electrochemical impedance and charge transfer limitation, lowest bandgap of 2.72 eV and weakest PL intensity when the ·O2– and ·OH species as the main active radicals with a dual S-scheme mechanism. The slight drop from 100.0 to 99.5 % of naphthalene degradation rate can be reached after repeated use for 10 times owing to the stable structure maintenance. This method can provide a valuable reference and potential promising catalyst for the industrial application in the naphthalene wastewater treatment.

On the evaluation of field emission parameters of V2O5 and TiO2 nanostructure cathodes

The self-assembled V2O5 and TiO2 nanowires are prepared hydrothermally from vanadium (V) hydroxylamido complex and titanium oxide powder, respectively, and studied for their crystalline phase, morphology, and electron emission characteristics. V2O5 is shown to exhibit an orthorhombic phase with preferential growth of the (010) face along the [010] direction; wire size being diameter 100–400 nm, and length several micrometers. TiO2 nanowires depict a monoclinic β-phase with a typical diameter of ∼ 30 nm. Their bundles serve as potential cathodes giving electron emission following the Fowler–Nordheim (F-N) mechanism but from infinitely small areas with large field enhancement factors. In comparison, β-TiO2 provides better emission characteristics at similar operating parameters (e.g., low threshold voltage 250–400 V and current density 109−1013 A m−2). The unique properties (viz., tip geometry, roughness, and local field enhancement) of one-dimension (1D) nanowires make them prospective candidates for high-brightness electron sources and development of the display devices [1–7]. A simple procedure developed by the authors is applied successfully in actual evaluation of the field emission parameters from the current–voltage data. This involves F-N formulation with physical considerations like variation of work function, effective emission area, and field enhancement factor [31].

A Flexible Broadband Visible Light Plasmon‐Absorber Based on a 2D Monolayer of Au‐Nanoparticle/TiO2‐Nanowire Core–Shell Heterostructures

AbstractPlasmon‐induced hot carrier transfer is a promising approach for photoelectric applications, but its practical application is often hindered by its relatively narrow absorption bandwidth and low light harvesting at visible wavelengths. This work reports a broadband visible light plasmon‐absorber based on a dandelion‐like hierarchical metal‐semiconductor Au‐TiO2 core–shell nanostructure where each Au nanoparticle (AuNP) core is covered by an optically transparent mesh‐shell composed of TiO2 nanowires (TNWs) (denoted as AuTNW‐dCS). These AuTNW‐dCSs are assembled to form a 2D arrayed plasmonic monolayer by connecting adjacent AuNPs with cross‐linked TiO2 NWs, which can induce a remarkable broadband absorption in the visible spectrum of 500–700 nm. Driven by a wide light adsorption range, improved hot‐electron carriers, and excellent analyst's immobilization capability, the AuTNW‐dCS based photoelectric immunosensor owns excellent performance for alpha‐fetoprotein detection in human serum, with a practical linear range of 0.1–1000 ng mL−1, a low detection limit of 0.1 ng mL−1, and satisfying selectivity under visible light‐emitting diode light irradiation. This work enlightens the prospective research on the use of metal/semiconductor core–shell heterostructures as photoactive materials for sensing applications. Additionally, it gives an impetus for developing flexible nanofilms based on plasmonic metal/semiconductor nanohybrids, beneficial for building wearable point‐of‐need platform.

A promising one-step carbothermal reduction nitridation strategy for enhancing photoelectrochemical performance of TiO2 nanowire array-based catalysts with stable nitrogen doping and desired core-double shell structure

Non-metallic nitrogen doping and carbon coating may be considered as the most promising strategies to improve the performance of the TiO2 photoelectrocatalyst by reducing the carrier recombinant rate, enhancing stability, and broadening light corresponding spectrum. In this study, a one-stage carbothermal reduction nitridation (CRN) strategy is proposed to improve the photoelectrocatalytic performance (PEC) of the TiO2 nanowires for hydrogen production. TiO2 nanowires derived nitrogen-doped TiO2/Ti(C0.7N0.3) co-catalyst/nitrogen-doped carbon (N-TiO2/Ti(CN)/N-C) core-double shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) on the Ti substrate have been successfully developed with 2D g-C3N4 addition as nitrogen and carbon source. The unique N-TiO2/Ti(CN)/N-C composite structure offers superior PEC performance over the original TiO2 NWAs when exposed to both simulated sunlight and visible light conditions. The photocurrent density of N-TiO2/Ti(CN)/N-C can increase by approximately 20.5-fold and 18.4-fold when subjected to simulated sunlight and simulated visible light, respectively, compared to the pure TiO2 NWAs. The remarkable activity of the catalysis under visible light can be ascribed to the widened absorption spectrum that emanates from nitrogen doping, along with the reinforced conductivity that results from the dual-shell structure that promotes the separation and transfer of carriers that are generated by light.

Formation of TiO2 nanowires and BNNPs using in situ hydrothermal reaction to improve thermal conductivity of cellulose

Constructing an efficient heat pathway is of utmost importance for improving the thermal conductivity of polymer-based composites. Three-dimensional (3D) filler structures can be excellently utilized to prepare thermally conductive pathways in polymer composites. A composite consisting of titanium dioxide nanowires (TiO2 NWs), boron nitride nanoparticles (BNNPs), and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) was fabricated using a hydrothermal process, focusing on the formation of TiO2 NWs and BNNPs. After the formation of the heat transfer path, the fabricated composite with a 50 wt% filler content exhibited a 450% increase in thermal conductivity compared to raw CNF, surpassing the composites prepared via random dispersion methods. Therefore, this paper presents a promising strategy for significantly enhancing the thermal properties of the composites.