Surface Modifications and Growth of Titanium Dioxide for Photo-Electrochemical Water Splitting

ISBN-13: 9783319817088 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 336 str.

John Alexander

Spis treści

Introduction.- Literature Review.- Principles of Photo-electrochemical Cells.- Experimental Methods.- Results: Plasmonic Photocurrent with AuNP-TiO2.- Electrochemistry of TiO2 – Rutile (110).- TiO2 Thin Films on Fused Silica.- Epitaxial TiO2 Thin Films on Single Crystal Substrates.- Conclusions.

Blurb

This outstanding thesis provides a wide-ranging overview of the growth of titanium dioxide thin films and its use in photo-electrochemicals such as water splitting. The context for water splitting is introduced with the theory of semiconductor-liquid junctions, which are dealt with in detail. In particular plasmonic enhancement of TiO₂ by the addition of gold nanoparticles is considered in depth, including a thorough and critical review of the literature, which discusses the possible mechanisms that may be at work. Plasmonic enhancement is demonstrated with gold nanoparticles on Nb-doped TiO2. Finally, the use of temperature and pressure to control the phase and morphology of thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition is presented.