• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
• /
• 2016.11a
• /
• pp.59-75
• /
• 2016

Reduced or black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials with oxygen-deficiency have been achieved by creating oxygen vacancies and/or defects at the surface using different methods. Fascinatingly, they exhibited an extended absorption in VIS and IR instead of only UV light with bandgap decrease from 3.2 (anatase) to ~1 eV. However, despite the dramatic enhancement of optical absorption in black $TiO_{2-x}$ materials, they have failed to show expected visible light-assisted water splitting efficiency. This was ascribed to the high concentration of the surface defects and/or oxygen vacancies, considered as an electron donor to enhance donor density and improve the charge transportation in black $TiO_2$ can also act as charge recombination centers, which eventually decrease photocatalytic activity. Therefore, a black ot reducd $TiO_2$ material with optimized properties would be highly desired for visible light photocatalysis. In this report, a new controlled magnesiothermic reduction has been developed to synthesize reduced black $TiO_{2-x}$ in the presence $H_2/Ar$ for photocatalytic $H_2$ production from methanol-water system. The material possesses an optimum band gap and band position, oxygen vacancies, and surface defects and shows significantly improved optical absorption in the visible and infrared region. The synergistic effects enable the reduced $TiO_{2-x}$ material to show an excellent hydrogen production ability along with long-term stability under the full solar wavelength range of light and visible light, respectively, in the methanol-water system in the presence of Pt as a co-catalyst. These values are superior to those of previously reported black $TiO_2$ materials. On the basis of all the results, it can be realized that the outstanding activity and stability of the reduced of $TiO_{2-x}$ NPs suggest that a balanced combination of different factors like $Ti^{3+}$, surface defects, oxygen vacancy, and recombination center is achieved along with optimized bandgap and band position during the preparation employing magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$. The controlled magnesiothermic reduction in the presence of $H_2$ is one of the best alternative ways to produce active and stable $TiO_2-based$ photocatalyst for $H_2$ production.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.163-177
• /
• 2006

Alpha Nickel hydroxide samples have been synthesized by electrodeposition on platinum and nickel substrates at current densities of 1, 5, 6, 7 and 10 mAcm？2 at a controlled temperature of 30.00 oC from Ni(NO3)2 bath. Platinum substrate shows a tendency to incorporate less nitrate ions with increase in current density thus producing less hydroxy-deficient nickel hydroxide layers. On the whole the interlayer distance (d003) is found to be inversely proportional to the amount of nitrate ions incorporated in-between the lattice. For the first time we have observed a decrease in lattice spacing with increase in concentration of intercalant (anions) and the reason for lattice contraction is attributed to the columbic attractive forces exerted by the oppositely charged nitrate ion and positively charged slabs. The Infrared spectra of the samples with expanded interlayers show two types of OH vibrations corresponding to hydrogen bonded and non-hydrogen bonded OH groups whereas the contracted interlayers show only hydrogen-boded OH groups. Although the faradaic efficiency is found to increase with increase in applied current there is a local minimum at 6.0 mAcm？2 current density on both platinum and nickel substrates. In this manuscript, GC-MS data is provided which clearly demonstrates the electrodeposited nickel hydroxide sample to consist of huge amount of carbonate ions although the electrolyte solution in nickel nitrate.