The enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity by hydrogen thermal treatment

In this study, conventional TiO2 powder was heated in hydrogen (H-2) gas at a high temperature as pretreatment. The photoactivity of the treated TiO2 samples was evaluated in the photodegradation of sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) in aqueous suspension. The experimental results demonstrated that the photodegradation rates of SSA were significantly enhanced by using the H-2-treated TiO2 catalysts and an optimum temperature for the H-2 treatment was found to be of 500-600 degreesC. The in situ electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal intensity of oxygen vacancies (OV) and trivalent titanium (Ti3+) associated with the photocatalytic activity was studied. The results proved the presence of OV and Ti3+ in the lattice of the H2-treated TiO2 and indicated that both were contributed to the enhancement of photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the experimental results presented that the EPR signal intensity of OV and Ti3+ in the H-2-treated TiO2 samples after 10 months storage was still significant higher than that in the untreated TiO2 catalyst. The experiment also demonstrated that the significant enhancement occurred in the photodegradation of phenol using the H-2-treated TiO2. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effect of annealing treatment on performance of interdiffused organic photovoltaic devices

We fabricated the interdiffused organic photovoltaic devices, which composed of poly (2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) and buckminsterfullerene (C-60), by annealing treatment. After annealing, C60 diffused into the MEH-PPV layer, in consequence, MEH-PPV/C-60 interfacial area was increased and their interface became closer proximity. The results lead to reduce reverse-bias saturation current (J(s)), and increase the open-circuit voltage (V-OC) and the short-circuit current (J(SC)).

Effect of Heat Treatment Temperature on the Catalytic Performances of PtRu/C Catalysts for Methanol Electro-Oxidation

Non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100 was used as a stabilizer to prepare PtRu/C catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The cyclic voltammogram was used to investigate the catalytic activity for MOR of different PtRu/C catalysts. TG-DTA, EDX, XRD, XPS and TEM were Used to characterize the composition, structure and morphology of the as-prepared PtRu/C catalysts. It is found that the heat treatment plays a crucial role in the particles size, particles distribution of the PtRu/C catalysts and the oxidation state of platinum. The results show that 350 degrees C is an optimum heat treatment temperature. The as-synthesized catalyst heat-treated at this temperature exhibits the best catalytic performance for MOR.

GIUSAXS and AFM Studies on Surface Reconstruction of Latex Thin Films during Thermal Treatment

The structural evolution of a single-layer latex film during annealing was studied via grazing incidence ultrasmall-angle X-ray scattering (GIUSAXS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The latex particles were composed of a low-T-g (-54 degrees C) core (n-butylacrylate, 30 wt %) and a high-T-g (41 degrees C) shell (t-butylacrylate, 70 wt %) and had an overall diameter of about 500 nm. GIUSAXS data indicate that the q(y) scan at q(z) = 0.27 nm(-1) (out-of-plane scan) contains information about both the structure factor and the form factor. The GIUSAXS data on latex films annealed at various temperatures ranging from room temperature to 140 degrees C indicate that the structure of the latex thin film beneath the surface changed significantly. The evolution of the out-of-plane scan plot reveals the surface reconstruction of the film. Furthermore, we also followed the time-dependent behavior of structural evolution when the latex film was annealed at a relatively low temperature (60 degrees C) where restructuring within the film can be followed that cannot be detected by AFM, which detects only surface morphology.

Constructing Thin Polythiophene Film Composed of Aligned Lamellae via Controlled Solvent Vapor Treatment

Thin poly(3-butylthiophene) (P3BT) film composed of aligned lamellae attached to the edge of the original film has been achieved via a controlled solvent vapor treatment (C-SVT) method. The polarized optical microscopy operated at both single-polarization and cross-polarization modes has been used to investigate the alignment of the fiber-like lamellae. A numerical simulation method is used to quantitatively calculate angle distributions of the lamellae deviated from the film growth direction. Prepatterned P3BT film edge acts as nuclei which densely initialize subsequent crystal growth by exhausting the materials transported from the partially dissolved film. The growth of new film upon crystallization is actually a self-healing process where the two-dimensional geometric confinement is mainly responsible for this parallel alignment of P3BT crystals. The solvent vapor pressure should be carefully chosen so as to induce crystal growth but avoid liquid instability which will destroy the continuity of the film.

Ordered magnetic core-manganese oxide shell nanostructures and their application in water treatment

In this paper, we have reported a facile method for the synthesis of ordered magnetic core-manganese oxide shell nanostructures. The process included two steps. First, manganese ferrite nanoparticles were obtained through a solvothermal method. Then, the manganese ferrite nanoparticles were mixed directly with KMnO4 solution without any additional modified procedures of the magnetic cores. It has been found that Mn element in the core can react with KMnO4 to form manganese oxide which acts as a seed for the in-situ growth of manganese oxide shells. This is significant for the controllable fabrication of symmetrical ordered manganese oxide shell structures. The shell thickness can be easily controlled through the reaction time. Transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the products at different reaction time.

Evolution of phase morphology of high impact polypropylene particles upon thermal treatment

Solvent fractionation and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results show that high impact polypropylene (hiPP) produced by a multistage polymerization process consists of PP homopolymer, amorphous ethylene-propylene random copolymer (EPR), and semicrystalline ethylene-propylene copolymer. For the original hiPP particles obtained right after polymerization, direct transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation reveals a fairly homogeneous morphology of the ethylene-propylene copolymer (EP) phase regions inside, while the polyethylene-rich interfacial layer observed between the EP region and the iPP matrix supports that EP copolymers form on the subglobule surface of the original iPP particles. Compared with that in original hiPP particles, the dispersed EP domains in pellets have much smaller average size and relatively uniform size distribution, indicating homogenization of the EP domains in the hiPP by melt-compounding. Upon heat-treatment, phase reorganization occurs in hiPP, and the dispersed EP domains can form a multiple-layered core-shell structure, comprising a polyethylene-rich core, an EPR intermediate layer and an outer shell formed by EP block copolymer, which accounts to some extent for the good toughness-rigidity balance of the material.

Solvent-vapor treatment induced performance enhancement of poly(3-hexylthiophene): methanofullerene bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic cells

The authors report enhanced poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):methanofullerene (PCBM) bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic cells via 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) vapor treatment and thermal annealing. DCB vapor treatment can induce P3HT self-organizing into ordered structure leading to enhanced absorption and high hole mobility. Further annealing the device at a high temperature, PCBM molecules begin to diffuse into aggregates and together with the ordered P3HT phase form bicontinuous pathways in the entire layer for efficient charge separation and transport. Compared to the control device that is merely annealed, optical absorption, short-circuit current, and power conversion efficiency are increased for the DCB vapor-treated cell.

Achieving perpendicular alignment of rigid polythiophene backbones to the substrate by using solvent-vapor treatment

The rigid backbone of the poly(3-butylthiophene) molecule adopts a perpendicular orientation with respect to the substrate by using a solvent-vapor treatment (see figure). Small and closely contacting spherulites instead of conventional whisker-like crystals are achieved. This could be utilized to improve charge-carrier mobility particularly in the direction normal to the film plane by designing and constructing thick crystalline domains in the functional layer.

Dewetting of polymethyl methacrylate on the patterned elastomer substrate by solvent vapor treatment

The dewetting evolution process of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) film on the flat and prepatterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates (with square microwells) by the saturated solvent of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) treatment has been investigated at room temperature by the optical microscope (OM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The final dewetting on the flat PDMS substrate led to polygonal liquid droplets, similar to that by temperature annealing. However, on the patterned PDMS substrate, depending on the microwells' structure of PDMS substrate and defect positions that initiated the rupture and dewetting of PMMA, two different kinds of dewetting phenomena, one initiated around the edge of the microwells and another initiated outside the microwells, were observed. The forming mechanism of these two different dewetting phenomena has been discussed. The microwells were filled with liquid droplets of PMMA after dewetting due to the formation of fingers caused by the pinning of the three-phase-line at the edge of the microwells and their rupture.