Issue 9, 2024

Colloidal TiO2 nanocrystals with engineered defectivity and optical properties

Abstract

Partially reduced forms of titanium dioxide (sometimes called “black” titania) have attracted widespread interest as promising photocatalysts of oxidation due to their absorption in the visible region. The main approaches to produce it rely on postprocessing at high temperatures (up to 800 °C) and high pressures (up to 40 bar) or on highly reactive precursors (e.g., TiH2), and yield powders with poorly controlled sizes, shapes, defect concentrations and distributions. We describe an approach for the one-step synthesis of TiO2 colloidal nanocrystals at atmospheric pressure and temperatures as low as 280 °C. The temperature of the reaction allows the density of oxygen vacancies to be controlled by nearly two orders of magnitude independently of their size, shape, or colloidal stability. This synthetic pathway appears to produce vacancies that are homogeneously distributed in the nanocrystals, rather than being concentrated in an amorphous shell. As a result, the defects are protected from oxidation and result in stable optical properties in oxidizing environments.

Graphical abstract: Colloidal TiO2 nanocrystals with engineered defectivity and optical properties

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
03 Apr. 2024
Accepted
10 Jūn. 2024
First published
05 Jūl. 2024

Nanoscale Horiz., 2024,9, 1568-1573

Colloidal TiO2 nanocrystals with engineered defectivity and optical properties

J. J. Chang, B. Yuan, S. Mignuzzi, R. Sapienza, F. Mezzadri and L. Cademartiri, Nanoscale Horiz., 2024, 9, 1568 DOI: 10.1039/D4NH00143E

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