Atomic‐Scale Mapping of Impurities in Partially Reduced Hollow TiO2 Nanowires

The incorporation of impurities during the chemical synthesis of nanomaterials is usually uncontrolled and rarely reported because of the formidable challenge in measuring trace amounts of often light elements with sub‐nanometer spatial resolution. And yet, these foreign elements (introduced by dopi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2020-03, Vol.59 (14), p.5651-5655
Main Authors: Lim, Joohyun, Kim, Se‐Ho, Aymerich Armengol, Raquel, Kasian, Olga, Choi, Pyuck‐Pa, Stephenson, Leigh T., Gault, Baptiste, Scheu, Christina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
atom probe tomography
Boron
Chemical reduction
Chemical synthesis
Communication
Communications
Doping
electron microscopy
Energy harvesting
Impurities
Light elements
Mapping
Metal oxides
Nanomaterials
Nanotechnology
Nanowires
oxygen vacancies
Spatial discrimination
Spatial resolution
TiO2
Titanium
Titanium dioxide
Trace impurities
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Summary:The incorporation of impurities during the chemical synthesis of nanomaterials is usually uncontrolled and rarely reported because of the formidable challenge in measuring trace amounts of often light elements with sub‐nanometer spatial resolution. And yet, these foreign elements (introduced by doping, for example) influence functional properties. We demonstrate how the hydrothermal growth and a partial reduction reaction on hollow TiO2 nanowires leads to the introduction of parts per millions of boron, sodium, and nitrogen. This doping explains the presence of oxygen vacancies and reduced Ti states at the surface, which enhance the functional properties of TiO2. Our results were obtained on model metal oxide nanomaterials and they shed light on a general process that leads to the uncontrolled incorporation of trace impurities in TiO2, thereby, having a strong effect on applications in energy‐harvesting. Impure thoughts: Precise characterization of impurities is critical for understanding and enhancing the functional properties of nanomaterials. The structure–property relationships of partially reduced hollow TiO2 nanowires are characterized using scanning transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. Oxygen vacancies and undesired boron, sodium, and nitrogen trace impurities are detected on the surface.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201915709