Synthesis and Characterization of Photoreactive TiO2/Carbon Nanosheet Composites

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the synthesis of porous, nanocrystalline TiO2/carbon nanosheet composites via atomic layer deposition and annealing, highlighting their potential for photocatalysis and solar cell applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for creating photocatalytic TiO2/carbon nanosheet composites using atomic layer deposition and helium annealing.

Findings

Annealing induces TiO2 crystallization on carbon nanosheets.

The resulting composites are porous and photocatalytically active.

Potential applications include photocatalysis and dye-sensitized solar cells.

Abstract

We report the atomic layer deposition of titanium dioxide on carbon nanosheet templates and investigate the effects of post-deposition annealing in a helium environment using different characterization techniques. The crystallization of the titanium dioxide coating upon annealing is observed using in-situ X-ray diffraction. The (micro)-structural characterization of the films is carried out by scanning electron microscopy and advanced transmission electron microscopy techniques. Our study shows that the annealing of the atomic layer deposition processed and carbon nanosheets templated titanium dioxide layers in helium environment results in the formation of a porous, nanocrystalline and photocatalytically active titanium dioxide-carbon nanosheet composite film. Such composites are suitable for photocatalysis and dye-sensitized solar cells applications.