Tuesday, February 7, 2012

1202.1109 (V. Bem et al.)

Influence of the sodium/proton replacement on the structural,
morphological and photocatalytic properties of titanate nanotubes
   [PDF]

V. Bem, M. C. Neves, M. R. Nunes, A. J. Silvestre, O. C. Monteiro
Titanate nanotubes (TNT) with different sodium contents have been synthesised
using a hydrothermal approach and a swift and highly controllable post-washing
processes. The influence of the sodium/proton replacement on the structural and
morphological characteristics of the prepared materials was analysed. Different
optical behaviour was observed depending on the Na+/H+ samples' content. A band
gap energy of 3.27\pm0.03 eV was estimated for the material with higher sodium
content while a value of 2.81\pm0.02 eV was inferred for the most protonated
material, which therefore exhibits an absorption edge in the near visible
region. The point of zero charge of the materials was determined and the
influence of the sodium content on the adsorption of both cationic and anionic
organic dyes was studied. The photocatalytic performance of the TNT samples was
evaluated in the rhodamine 6G degradation process. Best photodegradation
results were obtained when using the most protonated material as catalyst,
although this material has shown the lowest R6G adsorption capability.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.1109

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