Preparation of LDO@TiO2 core-shell nanosheets for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutions

TiO2-based nanosheets materials with core-shell structure are expected to be one of the promising photocatalysts to degradation of organic pollutions. However, it is a challenge to synthesis of TiO2 shell...

Nanoboxes with a porous MnO core and amorphous TiO2 shell as a mediator for lithium–sulfur batteries

Nanoboxes with a porous MnO core and amorphous TiO2 shell have been synthesized via a wet-chemistry method for the first time.

ZnO@TiO2 Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays with Different Thickness of TiO2 Shell for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

The ZnO@TiO2 core/shell nanowire arrays with different thicknesses of the TiO2 shell were synthesized, through depositing TiO2 on the ZnO nanowire arrays using the pulsed laser deposition process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that these core/shell nanowires were homogeneously coated with TiO2 nanoparticles with high crystallinity, appearing to be a rather rough surface compared to pure ZnO nanowires. The efficiency of ZnO@TiO2 core/shell structure-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was improved compared with pure ZnO nanowires. This is mainly attributed to the enlarged internal surface area of the core/shell structures, which increases dye adsorption on the anode to improve the light harvest. In addition, the energy barrier which formed at the interface between ZnO and TiO2 promoted the charge separation and suppressed the carrier recombination. Furthermore, the efficiency of DSSCs was further improved by increasing the thickness of the TiO2 shell. This work shows an efficient method to achieve high power conversion efficiency in core/shell nanowire-based DSSCs.