TY - JOUR
T1 - From Titanium Sesquioxide to Titanium Dioxide
T2 - Oxidation-Induced Structural, Phase, and Property Evolution
AU - Li, Yangyang
AU - Yang, Yang
AU - Shu, Xinyu
AU - Wan, Dongyang
AU - Wei, Nini
AU - Yu, Xiaojiang
AU - Breese, Mark B.H.
AU - Venkatesan, Thirumalai
AU - Xue, Jun Min
AU - Liu, Yichen
AU - Li, Sean
AU - Wu, Tom
AU - Chen, Jingsheng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright 2018 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2018/7/10
Y1 - 2018/7/10
N2 - In contrast to Ti4+-containing titanium dioxide (TiO2), which has a wide bandgap (∼3.0 eV) and has been widely explored for catalysis and energy applications, titanium sesquioxide (Ti2O3) with an intermediate valence state (Ti3+) possesses an ultranarrow bandgap (∼0.1 eV) and has been much less investigated. Although the importance of Ti3+ to the applications of TiO2 is widely recognized, the connection between TiO2 and Ti2O3 and the transformation pathway remain unknown. Herein, we investigate the oxidation-induced structural, phase, and property evolution of Ti2O3 using a complementary suite of microscopic and spectroscopic tools. Interestingly, transformation pathways to both rutile and anatase TiO2 are identified, which sensitively depend on oxidation conditions. Unique Ti2O3/TiO2 core-shell structures with annealing-controlled surface nanostructure formation are observed for the first time. The compositional and structural evolution of Ti2O3/TiO2 particles is accompanied by continuously tuned optical and electrical properties. Overall, our work reveals the connection between narrow-bandgap Ti3+-containing Ti2O3 and wide-bandgap Ti4+-containing TiO2, providing a versatile platform for exploring photoelectrocatalytic applications in valence- and structure-tailored oxide materials.
AB - In contrast to Ti4+-containing titanium dioxide (TiO2), which has a wide bandgap (∼3.0 eV) and has been widely explored for catalysis and energy applications, titanium sesquioxide (Ti2O3) with an intermediate valence state (Ti3+) possesses an ultranarrow bandgap (∼0.1 eV) and has been much less investigated. Although the importance of Ti3+ to the applications of TiO2 is widely recognized, the connection between TiO2 and Ti2O3 and the transformation pathway remain unknown. Herein, we investigate the oxidation-induced structural, phase, and property evolution of Ti2O3 using a complementary suite of microscopic and spectroscopic tools. Interestingly, transformation pathways to both rutile and anatase TiO2 are identified, which sensitively depend on oxidation conditions. Unique Ti2O3/TiO2 core-shell structures with annealing-controlled surface nanostructure formation are observed for the first time. The compositional and structural evolution of Ti2O3/TiO2 particles is accompanied by continuously tuned optical and electrical properties. Overall, our work reveals the connection between narrow-bandgap Ti3+-containing Ti2O3 and wide-bandgap Ti4+-containing TiO2, providing a versatile platform for exploring photoelectrocatalytic applications in valence- and structure-tailored oxide materials.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048748336&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b01739
DO - 10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b01739
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85048748336
SN - 0897-4756
VL - 30
SP - 4383
EP - 4392
JO - Chemistry of Materials
JF - Chemistry of Materials
IS - 13
ER -