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Colloid and Polymer Science
Published in: Colloid and Polymer Science 4/2013

01-04-2013 | Original Contribution

Porous “sponge-like” anatase TiO2 via polymer templates: synthesis, characterization, and performance as a light-scattering material

Authors: Lukasz Szymanski, Praveen Surolia, Owen Byrne, K. Ravindranathan Thampi, Cosima Stubenrauch

Published in: Colloid and Polymer Science | Issue 4/2013

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Abstract

The synthesis of porous “sponge-like” TiO2 via a polymer gel coating technique is presented. The experimental procedure involves the preparation of a gelled polymerizable microemulsion. The polymerization of the latter leads to porous poly-N-isopropylacrylamide which forms a hydrogel in the presence of water. Via solvent exchange, a suitable TiO2 precursor is infiltrated into this structure after which its in situ hydrolysis is triggered to form porous amorphous TiO2. The subsequent calcination step allows the removal of the polymer template and the transformation of amorphous TiO2 into porous, crystalline anatase with domain sizes ranging from 200 to 250 nm. As a means of verification and proof of concept, this material is tested as light-scattering layer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), and it is found that the resulting solar cell performance is comparable to commercially available TiO2. However, an increased tendency to form rutile during DSSC fabrication was noticed when compared to commercial TiO2. As there is a large potential for optimizing the synthesis, the proposed procedure is a promising route towards porous TiO2 that performs significantly better as scattering layer in light-harvesting and optical devices.
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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
The main difference between the gelled microemulsions studied previously and those studied here was the type of oil and the amount of monomer. However, changing the composition led to the same total surfactant concentration required to solubilize equal amounts of water and oil, namely 12 wt%. As the domain size mainly depends on the total surfactant concentration, it is justified to say that the domain size of the present system also is 22 ± 2 nm.
 
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Metadata
Title
Porous “sponge-like” anatase TiO2 via polymer templates: synthesis, characterization, and performance as a light-scattering material
Authors
Lukasz Szymanski
Praveen Surolia
Owen Byrne
K. Ravindranathan Thampi
Cosima Stubenrauch
Publication date
01-04-2013
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Colloid and Polymer Science / Issue 4/2013
Print ISSN: 0303-402X
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1536
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-012-2792-x

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