Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been obtained by sol-gel process. Titanium isopropoxide was hydrolized in acidic medium at pH values between 0.5 and 1. The hydrolysis was catalyzed with HCl, HNO3 or HClO4, and studied their influence in the formation of titanium dioxide crystalline phases, i.e. rutile, anatase and brokite phases. The peptization process was studied with Visible and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques. Hydrothermal treatment at 220 °C for 12 hours permits the fabrication of well defined nanoparticles as it was observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The crystal structure was obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Only the anatase phase was obtained using HClO4, however using HCl and HNO3 the anatase/rutile ratio is related to the pH of the initial acidic solution and the amount of anatase phase has increased when the pH of this soluti...

One-dimensional nanostructures have shown high photocatalytic efficiency due to their high surface area to volume ratio and charge transfer efficiency. In this work, we have studied the influence of zinc acetate content (zinc acetate to polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mass ratio) on the photoelectrochemical performance of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures. The nanostructures of ZnO were fabricated on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass substrate by electrospinning of aqueous solution containing different amounts of zinc acetate. The precursor nanofibers of zinc acetate/PVA were converted into polycrystalline ZnO nanostructures with hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure by calcination at 600°C for 3 h. It was found that by increasing the amount of zinc acetate, the diameter of the as-spun precursor fibers increased and their distribution became broader. The mean diameter of the ZnO nanoparticles forming...

In this work, ZnO/TiO2 nanostructures were fabricated by an electrostatically modified electrospinning technique using zinc acetate and commercially available TiO2-P25, polyvinyl alcohol, and a solvent. The ZnO/TiO2 nanostructures were fabricated on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate by electrospinning of aqueous solution containing different amounts of zinc acetate. The TiO2-P25 nanoparticles were immobilized within zinc acetate/PVA nanofibers. The precursor nanofibers obtained were converted into polycrystalline ZnO and ZnO/TiO2 by calcination at 600 °C. The structure and morphology of the obtained nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. It was found that the TiO2-P25 nanoparticles were attached to the ZnO nanostructures, and the mean diameter of the nanoparticles forming the nanostructures range...

This work was supported by the Peruvian-Argentinean 321-2009-CONCYTEC OAJ Project and MINCYT-CONCYTEC PE/09/01 and PE/11/02

ZnO nanorods (ZnO NRs) were grown on ZnO seeded polyethylene tert-phtalate(PET) substrates obtained from recycled soda bottles at low temperatures (90°C) from Zn2+precursors in alkaline aqueous solution. The ZnO seeds were deposited on the PET substrates by spray gel (SG) or dip coating (DC) from a ZnO methanol sol. In the case of SG, the PET substrate was heated at 90 °Cduring the spray process. By the other hand the ZnO seed layers obtained by dip coating were heated at 90°C or 130°C for 10 minutes among coatings. Before seeding two procedures were made on PET surface forimproving seed adhesion: 1) PET surface was mechanically roughened with sand paper 1200. 2) PET surface was chemically treated with a solution of NaOH in ethanol. The relationship between the microstructure of the ZnO NRs films as function of the PET surface treatment and the photocatalytic antibacterial activity f...

TiO2 nanotubes were synthesized by alkaline hydrothermal treatment of TiO2 nanoparticles with a controlled proportion of anatase and rutile. Tailoring of TiO2 phases was achieved by adjusting the pH and type of acid used in the hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide (first step in the sol-gel synthesis). The anatase proportion in the precursor nanoparticles was in the 3–100% range. Tube-like nanostructures were obtained with an anatase percentage of 18 or higher while flake-like shapes were obtained when rutile was dominant in the seed. After annealing at 400°C for 2 h, a fraction of nanotubes was conserved in all the samples but, depending on the anatase/rutile ratio in the starting material, spherical and rod-shaped structures were also observed. The photocatalytic activity of 1D nanostructures was evaluated by measuring the deactivation of E. coli in stirred water in the dark and un...

ZnO nanorods (ZnO NRs) were grown on ZnO seeded polyethylene tert-phtalate (PET) substrates obtained from recycled soda bottles at low temperatures (90 °C) from Zn2+ precursors in alkaline aqueous solution. The ZnO seeds were deposited on the PET substrates by spray gel (SG) or dip coating (DC) from a ZnO methanol sol. In the case of SG, the PET substrate was heated at 90 °C during the spray process. By the other hand the ZnO seed layers obtained by dip coating were heated at 90 °C or 130 °C for 10 minutes among coatings. Before seeding two procedures were made on PET surface for improving seed adhesion: 1) PET surface was mechanically roughened with sand paper 1200. 2) PET surface was chemically treated with a solution of NaOH in ethanol. The relationship between the microstructure of the ZnO NRs films as function of the PET surface treatment and the photocatalytic antibacterial act...

ZnO nanorods (NRs) films, nitrogen-doped (ZnO:N), and ZnO doped with nitrogen and decorated with silver nanostructures (ZnO:N-Ag) NRs films were vertically supported on undoped and N doped ZnO seed layers by a wet chemical method. The obtained films were characterized structurally by X-ray diffraction. Morphological and elemental analysis was performed by scanning electron microscopy, including an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy facility and their optical properties by Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy. Analysis performed in the NRs films showed that the nitrogen content in the seed layer strongly affected their structure and morphology. The mean diameter of ZnO NRs ranged from 70 to 190 nm. As the nitrogen content in the seed layer increased, the mean diameter of ZnO:N NRs increased from 132 to 250 nm and the diameter dispersion decreased. This diameter increase occurs simultaneousl...