Scaling Up the Process of Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Synthesis and Its Effect on Photoelectrochemical Properties
Mariusz Szkoda,
Konrad Trzciński,
Zuzanna Zarach,
Daria Roda,
Marcin Łapiński,
Andrzej P. Nowak
Affiliations
Mariusz Szkoda
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Konrad Trzciński
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Zuzanna Zarach
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Daria Roda
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Marcin Łapiński
Advanced Materials Center, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
Andrzej P. Nowak
Department of Chemistry and Technology of Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdańsk, Poland
In this work, for the first time, the influence of scaling up the process of titanium dioxide nanotube (TiO2NT) synthesis on the photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanotubes is presented. Titanium dioxide nanotubes were obtained on substrates of various sizes: 2 × 2, 4 × 4, 5 × 5, 6 × 6, and 8 × 8 cm2. The electrode material was characterized using scanning electron microscopy as well as Raman and UV–vis spectroscopy in order to investigate their morphology, crystallinity, and absorbance ability, respectively. The obtained electrodes were used as photoanodes for the photoelectrochemical water splitting. The surface analysis was performed, and photocurrent values were determined depending on their place on the sample. Interestingly, the values of the obtained photocurrent densities in the center of each sample were similar and were about 80 µA·cm2. The results of our work show evidence of a significant contribution to wider applications of materials based on TiO2 nanotubes not only in photoelectrochemistry but also in medicine, supercapacitors, and sensors.
