TiO2 Nanorods on Glass Microspheres
SISMAN O. 1, HARIDASAN H. 1, SAJZEW R. 2, KRAXNER J. 1, MAHMOUD M. 1, VELAZQUEZ J. 1, WONDRACZEK L. 2, GALUSEK D. 1,3
1 FunGlass-Center for Functional and Surface functionalized Glasses, Alexander Dub?ek University of Tren?ín, Tren?ín , Slovakia; 2 Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany; 3 Join Glass Centre of the IIC SAS, TnU AD, and FChPT STU, Tren?ín, Slovakia
Titanium dioxide nanostructures have been used in various applications as photocatalysts, biosensors, optoelectronics, and others. The hydrothermal technique has been preferred as a well-known synthesis method due to its low-cost, low-temperature, and environmentally friendly process [1]. In addition, the abundance of alkaline solutions (NaOH, KOH, etc.) and Ti salts (TiCl4, etc.) offers various thermo-chemical processes for different TiO2 morphologies. In this study, we fabricated TiO2 NRs on flat commercial fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates, FTO seed layer coated flat microscope slide and glass microspheres (<80 mm) in a borosilicate system prepared by flame synthesis technique to enhance the surface interactions for innovative applications by enlarging the substrate dimension from 1D to 3D. The growth kinetics of TiO2 NRs on glass microspheres were investigated by changing both FTO seed layer contents and hydrothermal conditions to reach the optimum growth. To grow TiO2 NRs, a hydrothermal route reported previously was followed [2]. An FTO layer was coated on the microspheres by dip-coating to trigger the growth of TiO2 NRs. SEM images revealed that the nanorods had similar dimensions for all samples however different growth axises for seed layer assisted samples. The fabricated TiO2 NRs exhibited rutile crsytal form however the concentrations of the plane peaks were changing due to multiaxial growth.
Keywords: TiO2 nanorods, borosilicate, glass microsphere, hydrothermal, flame synthesis.
Acknowledgments
This paper is a part of the dissemination activities of project “FunGlass” (Centre for Functional and Surface Functionalized Glass). This project has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 739566. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Slovak Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport, VEGA No 1/0456/20 and VEGA No 1/0844/21.
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