Research
Low-Temperature Material Synthesis
Synthesis of Highly Ordered TI02 Nanotubes Using Ionic Liquids for Photovoltaics
Background
Vertically aligned, highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays are of great interest due to their high surface-to-volume ratios and size-dependent properties and, more importantly, have been proven to possess outstanding charge transport properties enabling a variety of advanced PV-related applications, including dye-sensitized solar cells, hydrogen generation by water photoelectrolysis, and photocatalysis.
Goal
The new approach proposed here for synthesis of TiO2 nanotubes using the so-called 'green solvents' ionic liquids that have great energy and environmental benefits: (1) Improve the PV characteristics by producing more preferable nanotube structures, such as finer tube diameter, higher aspect ratio, etc., (2) Reduce the energy consumption in the synthesis due to excellent electrical conductivities of ionic liquids, and (3) Make the synthesis more environmentally friendly because ionic liquids have negligible volatility, less toxicity, and non-flammability compared to the organic solvents-based electrolytes used in literature. approach.
Contact
Jun Qu
qujn@ornl.gov
(865) 574-4941