Deposition of photocatalytically active TiO2 films by inkjet printing of TiO2 nanoparticle suspensions obtained from microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis

Nanostructured Metal Oxide-Based Electrochemical Biosensors in Medical Diagnosis

Nanostructured metal oxides (NMOs) provide electrical properties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, reaction activity, and good adsorption strength. Furthermore, they serve as a conductive substrate for the immobilization of biomolecules, exhibiting notable biological activity. Capitalizing on these characteristics, they find utility in the development of various electrochemical biosensing devices, elevating the sensitivity and selectivity of such diagnostic platforms. In this review, different types of NMOs, including zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2), iron (II, III) oxide (Fe3O4), nickel oxide (NiO), and copper oxide (CuO); their synthesis methods; and how they can be integrated into biosensors used for medical diagnosis are examined. It also includes a detailed table for the last 10 years covering the morphologies, analysis techniques, analytes, and analytical performances of electrochemical biosensors developed for medical diagnosis.

A Review on New 3-D Printed Materials' Geometries for Catalysis and Adsorption: Paradigms from Reforming Reactions and CO2 Capture

"Bottom-up" additive manufacturing (AM) is the technology whereby a digitally designed structure is built layer-by-layer, i.e., differently than by traditional manufacturing techniques based on subtractive manufacturing. AM, as exemplified by 3D printing, has gained significant importance for scientists, among others, in the fields of catalysis and separation. Undoubtedly, it constitutes an enabling pathway by which new complex, promising and innovative structures can be built. According to recent studies, 3D printing technologies have been utilized in enhancing the heat, mass transfer, adsorption capacity and surface area in CO2 adsorption and separation applications and catalytic reactions. However, intense work is needed in the field to address further challenges in dealing with the materials and metrological features of the structures involved. Although few studies have been performed, the promise is there for future research to decrease carbon emissions and footprint. This review provides an overview on how AM is linked to the chemistry of catalysis and separation with particular emphasis on reforming reactions and carbon adsorption and how efficient it could be in enhancing their performance.

3D Printing in Heterogeneous Catalysis-The State of the Art

This paper describes the process of additive manufacturing and a selection of three-dimensional (3D) printing methods which have applications in chemical synthesis, specifically for the production of monolithic catalysts. A review was conducted on reference literature for 3D printing applications in the field of catalysis. It was proven that 3D printing is a promising production method for catalysts.

Recent advances and prospects of inkjet printing in heterogeneous catalysis

This review provides an insight into inkjet printing technology in the context of heterogeneous catalysis.

A hybrid nanoparticle/alkoxide ink for inkjet printing of TiO2: a templating effect to form anatase at 200 °C

A reactive ink (Ink 1) containing Ti(OPrⁱ)₄ in PrⁱOH with dimethoxyethan as a kinetic stabiliser deposits TiO₂ by inkjet printing. A hybrid ink (Ink 2) consists of Ink 1 with the addition of anatase NPs, which act as seeds for the formation of anatase TiO₂ at 200 °C. Printing of anatase on PET is also reported.

Peroxy-Titanium Complex-based inks for low temperature compliant anatase thin films

Stable highly crystalline titanium dioxide colloids are of paramount importance for the establishment of a solution-processable library of materials that could help in bringing the advantages of digital printing to the world of photocatalysis and solar energy conversion. Nano-sized titanium dioxide in the anatase phase was synthesized by means of hydrothermal methods and treated with hydrogen peroxide to form Peroxy-Titanium Complexes (PTCs). The influence of hydrogen peroxide on the structural, optical and rheological properties of titanium dioxide and its colloidal solutions were assessed and a practical demonstration of a low temperature compliant digitally printed anatase thin film given.

Combining additive manufacturing and catalysis: a review

A review on additive manufacturing (AM) applied to heterogeneous catalysis reveals enabling power of AM and challenges to overcome in chemical interfacing and material printability.

Titania Nanocrystal Surface Functionalization through Silane Chemistry for Low Temperature Deposition on Polymers

A method to obtain photocatalytically active thin films of anatase nanocrystals on polymer substrates was explored. Anatase nanocrystals were synthesized by a fast hydrolysis synthesis in an apolar solvent and characterized with regard to their crystallinity, size, and dispersibility and the stability of the resulting suspensions. The stable titania nanocrystal suspensions were further processed for their use in polar solvents using ligand exchange. Oleic acid was exchanged for 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), resulting in aqueous suspensions of charge-stabilized nanocrystals. These were adapted for use as coating suspensions for surface-treated PMMA substrates in order to obtain thin films containing anatase nanocrystals covalently coupled to the surface of the PMMA substrates. Thereby, the ligand exchange was beneficial for increasing the compatibility and durability of the inorganic/organic composite, by the formation of a covalent amide bond between the silane ligands on the nanocrystals and the carboxylic acid groups on the polymer substrate. The surface morphology, transparency, and photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of organic pollutants of the coatings, obtained through dip-coating, were evaluated.

Microwave-irradiation-assisted hybrid chemical approach for titanium dioxide nanoparticle synthesis: microbial and cytotoxicological evaluation

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TNPs) are widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. It is used for protection against UV exposure due to its light-scattering properties and high refractive index. Though TNPs are increasingly used, the synthesis of TNPs is tedious and time consuming; therefore, in the present study, microwave-assisted hybrid chemical approach was used for TNP synthesis. In the present study, we demonstrated that TNPs can be synthesized only in 2.5 h; however, the commonly used chemical approach using muffle furnace takes 5 h. The activity of TNP depends on the synthetic protocol; therefore, the present study also determined the effect of microwave-assisted hybrid chemical approach synthetic protocol on microbial and cytotoxicity. The results showed that TNP has the best antibacterial activity in decreasing order from Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The IC50 values of TNP for HCT116 and A549 were found to be 6.43 and 6.04 ppm, respectively. Cell death was also confirmed from trypan blue exclusion assay and membrane integrity loss was observed. Therefore, the study determines that the microwave-assisted hybrid chemical approach is time-saving; hence, this technique can be upgraded from lab scale to industrial scale via pilot plant scale. Moreover, it is necessary to find the mechanism of action at the molecular level to establish the reason for greater bacterial and cytotoxicological toxicity. Graphical abstract A graphical representation of TNP synthesis.

Highly Crystalline Nanoparticle Suspensions for Low-Temperature Processing of TiO2 Thin Films

In this work, we present preparation and stabilization methods for highly crystalline TiO2 nanoparticle suspensions for the successful deposition of transparent, photocatalytically active TiO2 thin films toward the degradation of organic pollutants by a low temperature deposition method. A proof-of-concept is provided wherein stable, aqueous TiO2 suspensions are deposited on glass substrates. Even if the processing temperature is lowered to 150-200 °C, the subsequent heat treatment provides transparent and photocatalytically active titania thin layers. Because all precursor solutions are water-based, this method provides an energy-efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly synthesis route. The high load in crystalline titania particles obtained after microwave heating opens up the possibility to produce thin coatings by low temperature processing, as a conventional crystallization procedure is in this case superfluous. The impact of the precursor chemistry in Ti(4+)-peroxo solutions, containing imino-diacetic acid as a complexing ligand and different bases to promote complexation was studied as a function of pH, reaction time and temperature. The nanocrystal formation was followed in terms of colloidal stability, crystallinity and particle size. Combined data from Raman and infrared spectroscopy, confirmed that stable titanium precursors could be obtained at pH levels ranging from 2 to 11. A maximum amount of 50.7% crystallinity was achieved, which is one of the highest reported amounts of anatase nanoparticles that are suspendable in stable aqueous titania suspensions. Decoloring of methylene blue solutions by precipitated nanosized powders from the TiO2 suspensions proves their photocatalytic properties toward degradation of organic materials, a key requisite for further processing. This synthesis method proves that the deposition of highly crystalline anatase suspensions is a valid route for the production of photocatalytically active, transparent films on heat-sensitive substrates such as polymers.

Cold-Setting Inkjet Printed Titania Patterns Reinforced by Organosilicate Binder

A hybrid organo-silica sol was used as a binder for reinforcing of commercial titanium dioxide nanoparticles (Evonic P25) deposited on glass substrates. The organo-silica binder was prepared by the sol-gel process and mixtures of titania nanoparticles with the binder in various ratios were deposited by materials printing technique. Patterns with both positive and negative features down to 100 µm size and variable thickness were reliably printed by Fujifilm Dimatix inkjet printer. All prepared films well adhered onto substrates, however further post-printing treatment proved to be necessary in order to improve their reactivity. The influence of UV radiation as well as of thermal sintering on the final electrochemical and photocatalytic properties was investigated. A mixture containing 63 wt % of titania delivered a balanced compromise of mechanical stability, generated photocurrent density and photocatalytic activity. Although the heat treated samples yielded generally higher photocurrent, higher photocatalytic activity towards model aqueous pollutant was observed in the case of UV cured samples because of their superhydrophilic properties. While heat sintering remains the superior processing method for inorganic substrates, UV-curing provides a sound treatment option for heat sensitive ones.

Properties and Application Perspective of Hybrid Titania-Silica Patterns Fabricated by Inkjet Printing

A hybrid titania-silica cold-setting sol has been developed that can be deposited onto a wide variety of surfaces without the need for high-temperature fixing and that is suitable for material printing deposition. Thin hybrid titania-silica coatings were patterned onto glass and PET substrates by inkjet printing. Well-defined hybrid titania-silica patterns, with thicknesses ranging from 40 to 400 nm, were fabricated by overprinting 1 to 10 layers. Excellent mechanical, optical, and photocatalytic properties were observed, making the reported material well suited for the fabrication of transparent self-cleaning coatings both on mineral and organic substrates. The printed patterns exhibit photoelectrochemical activity that can be further improved by thermal or photonic curing. A concept of fully printed interdigitated photoelectrochemical cells on flexible PET substrates utilizing the reported hybrid photocatalyst is disclosed as well.

Fano resonance properties of gold nanocrescent arrays

The Fano resonance induced by symmetry breaking could improve the sensitivity of localized surface plasmon resonance sensors. In this work, the spectra of gold nanocrescent arrays are measured and confirmed by simulation results through the finite element method (FEM). The Fano resonance presented in the spectra could be modulated by the symmetry breaking with different waist widths, which are understood through plasmonic hybridization theory with the help of surface charge distribution. Our results indicate the Fano lineshape is generated by the coherent coupling of the quadrupole plasmon mode Q_H of nanohole and the antibonding plasmon mode D(AB) of nanocrescent. Finally, the high figure of merit (FoM=1.6-3.5) of the Q mode in the visible region illustrates this nanocrescent Fano sensor is of great value in the biological and chemical scientific fields.

Plasmonic Ag deposited TiO2 nano-sheet film for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production by water splitting

TiO2 nano-sheet film (TiO2 NSF) was prepared by a hydrothermal method. Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were then deposited on the surface of TiO2 NSF (Ag/TiO2 NSF) under microwave-assisted chemical reduction. The prepared samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The results revealed that the Ag NPs were well dispersed on the anatase/rutile mixed-phase TiO2 nano-sheet surface with a metallic state. The visible light absorption and Raman scattering of TiO2 were enhanced by Ag NPs based on its surface plasmon resonance effect. Besides, Ag NPs could also effectively restrain the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. Photocatalytic water splitting was conducted on the films to obtain hydrogen, and the experimental results indicated that plasmonic Ag NPs could greatly enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 due to the synergistic effect between electron transfer and surface plasmon resonance enhanced absorption. The hydrogen yield obtained from the optimal sample reached 8.1 μmol cm(-2) and the corresponding energy efficiency was about 0.47%, which was 8.5 times higher than that of pure TiO2 film. Additionally, the formation mechanism of TiO2 nano-sheet film is preliminarily discussed.

Self-cleaning properties, mechanical stability, and adhesion strength of transparent photocatalytic TiO(2)-ZnO coatings on polycarbonate

Transparent layers containing TiO2 have been intensively studied because of their interesting application potential including photocatalytically active and self-cleaning surfaces. In the present work, transparent TiO2-ZnO thin films on a SiO2 interlayer were successfully deposited on the surface of polycarbonate to provide polymeric sheets with a self-cleaning, superhydrophilic, and photocatalytically active surface layer. To ensure a good adhesion of the SiO2 interlayer, the polycarbonate sheets were first modified by irradiation with UV(C) light. The prepared films were characterized by UV/vis spectrophotometry, SEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and water contact-angle measurements. All prepared films are transparent, have thicknesses in the range between 120 and 250 nm, and possess superhydrophilic properties. Moreover, they exhibit good adhesion qualities as defined quantitatively by cross-cut tests. However, their mechanical strengths, checked by felt-abrasion tests, differ by changing the molar TiO2-ZnO ratio. The photocatalytic activity, expressed as photonic efficiency, of the coated surfaces was estimated from the kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and methyl stearate. The combination between superhydrophilic properties and photocatalytic activity was determined by studying the change of water contact angle during the storage of the prepared films in the dark under an ambient atmosphere and under an atmosphere containing either acetone or isopropanol followed by UV(A) irradiation. In addition, self-cleaning properties were examined by determining the changes in the contact angle during the irradiation time after applying oleic acid to the surface. The results show that increasing the molar ratio of ZnO in TiO2 coatings up to 5% yields maximum photonic efficiency values of 0.023%, as assessed by the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. Moreover, the superhydrophilic coating with a molar TiO2-ZnO ratio of 1:0.05 exhibits the best self-cleaning properties combined with a good mechanical stability and a very good stability against UV irradiation.

Aqueous ZrO₂ and YSZ Colloidal Systems through Microwave Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis

In this paper, the formation of ZrO₂ and yttria-stabilised-zirconia (YSZ) aqueous colloidal systems via microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis is studied. Microwave synthesis allows a fast screening of the influence of different parameters such as time and temperature. The temperature varied from 140 °C up to 180 °C and the used reaction time varied from 5 min up to 1 h. The synthesised zirconia nanoparticles have a particle size of 50 nm confirmed by TEM. A ¹H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) study helped to understand the stabilization mechanism of the synthesised particles. By the addition of ytrrium ions into the zirconia colloidal solution, YSZ could be formed via an additional thermal treatment. Hereby, the samples are heated up to 400 °C for 1 h. YSZ colloidal solutions are synthesised by making use of complexing agents such as nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and citric acid to control the hydrolysis and condensation of both ions to avoid non-stoichiometric phases. The ratio of Zr/Y in the particles is quantified by XRF. The amorphous structure of those particles necessitates an additional thermal treatment up to 600 °C during 1 h in order to obtain crystalline YSZ.