Soft-template-carbonization route to highly textured mesoporous carbon-TiO sub(2) inverse opals for efficient photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical applications

Hierarchically organized mesoporous carbon-TiO sub(2) inverse opal nanostructures were synthesized by complementary colloid and block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly, where the triblock copolymer P123 acts simultaneously as the template and the carbon source. Highly ordered mesoporous inverse opal nan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2014-04, Vol.16 (19), p.9023-9030
Main Authors: Quan, Li Na, Jang, Yoon Hee, Stoerzinger, Kelsey A, May, Kevin J, Jang, Yu Jin, Kochuveedu, Saji Thomas, Shao-Horn, Yang, Kim, Dong Ha
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Block copolymers
Carbon
Inverse
Morphology
Nanostructure
Photocatalysis
Self assembly
Titanium dioxide
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Summary:Hierarchically organized mesoporous carbon-TiO sub(2) inverse opal nanostructures were synthesized by complementary colloid and block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly, where the triblock copolymer P123 acts simultaneously as the template and the carbon source. Highly ordered mesoporous inverse opal nanostructures with a nano-textured surface morphology and multiple-length scale nanopores provide increased light-activated surface area and scattering effects, leading to enhanced photoabsorption efficiency and the transport of matter. UV-vis absorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Mott-Schottky measurement studies show that incorporation of carbon moieties into TiO sub(2)viadirect conversion of BCPs creates a new energy level above the valence band of TiO sub(2), resulting in an effective decrease in the band gap. A significantly enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity was demonstrated for the mesoporous carbon-TiO sub(2) inverse opals in terms of the degradation of p-nitrophenol ( similar to 79%) and photoelectrochemical water splitting ( similar to 0.087%).
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/c4cp00803k