Low temperature crystallisation of mesoporous TiO2

Nanoscale. 2013 Nov 7;5(21):10518-24. doi: 10.1039/c3nr03009a. Epub 2013 Sep 17.

Abstract

Conducting mesoporous TiO2 is rapidly gaining importance for green energy applications. To optimise performance, its porosity and crystallinity must be carefully fine-tuned. To this end, we have performed a detailed study on the temperature dependence of TiO2 crystallisation in mesoporous films. Crystal nucleation and growth of initially amorphous TiO2 derived by hydrolytic sol-gel chemistry is compared to the evolution of crystallinity from nanocrystalline building blocks obtained from non-hydrolytic sol-gel chemistry, and mixtures thereof. Our study addresses the question whether the critical temperature for crystal growth can be lowered by the addition of crystalline nucleation seeds.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't