Applications of TiO2 Nanowires

3057 Words7 Pages

Beginning intro: Research and advancement of TiO2 nanowires have increased tremendously due to recent findings about its unique chemical and physical properties. Many new methods of synthesizing TiO2 nanowires have been created and improved. Specifically, three growth methods are reviewed in this survey: (1) sol-gel method (2) direct oxidation method (3) hydrothermal method. Three applications of TiO2 nanowires are touched in this survey: (1) photocatalytic (2) gas sensing (3) dye-sensitized solar cell.

Introduction

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is often found in commercial products such as paint, sunscreen, toothpaste, and etc. [7]. Further research and advancement of TiO2 was initiated after the discovery of its photocatalytic property that allows it to split water on TiO2 electrodes in 1972 [7]. TiO2 nanosized particles can be synthesized in various shapes such as nanotube, nanorod, nanobelt, and etc. [N&N]. Specifically, this section is the focus on the growth mechanism, characterization, and applications of TiO2 nanowires.

Inorganic nanowires often exhibit unique property that is useful for future applications. As the sizes of materials are decreasing down to the nanoscale level, the physical structure and chemical properties of nanomaterials are also diverging away from its bulk form [N&N]. Nanowires display the quantum confinement effect which describes the energy level of electrons as discrete unit [N&N]. For example, the transfer of electrons from the valence band to the conducting band requires a specific amount of energy [N&N]. Additionally, the surface area to volume ratio increases as the particles gets smaller [N&N]. This property supports many of the future application of TiO2 nanowires that requires a large surface a...

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...terials Research Society Journals. Web. 10 July 2010.

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