TiO sub(2) nanofibers resembling 'yellow bristle grass' in morphology by a soft chemical transformation

• Published in: Dalton transactions : an international journal of inorganic chemistry Vol. 44; no. 20; pp. 9637 - 9645
• Main Authors: Nandan, Sandeep, Deepak, T G, Nair, Shantikumar V, Nair, ASreekumaran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.05.2015
• Subjects: Grasses; Morphology; Nanofibers; Nanostructure; Sodium; Surface area; Titanates; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/c5dt01027f

We synthesized a uniquely shaped one-dimensional (1-D) TiO sub(2) nanostructure having the morphology of yellow bristle grass with high surface area by the titanate route under mild reaction conditions. The electrospun TiO sub(2)-SiO sub(2) composite nanofibers upon treatment with concentrated NaOH at 80 degree C under ambient pressure for 24 h resulted in sodium titanate (Na sub(2)Ti sub(3)O sub(7)) nanostructures. The Na sub(2)Ti sub(3)O sub(7) nanostructures have an overall 1-D fibrous morphology but the highly porous fiber surfaces were decorated with layered thorn-like features (a morphology resembling that of yellow bristle grass) resulting in high surface area (113 m super(2) g super(-1)) and porosity. The Na sub(2)Ti sub(3)O sub(7) nanostructures were converted into TiO sub(2) nanostructures of the same morphology by acidification (0.1 N HCl) followed by low temperature sintering (110 degree C) processes. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) constructed out of the material (cells of area 0.20 cm super(2) and thickness 12 mu m) showed a power conversion efficiency ( eta ) of 8.02% in comparison with commercial P-25 TiO sub(2) ( eta = 6.1%).