title: Nanostructured N-doped TiO₂ marigold flowers for an efficient solar hydrogen production from H₂S.
abstract: Nitrogen-doped TiO₂ nanostructures in the form of marigold flowers have been synthesized for the first time using a facile solvothermal method. The structural analysis has shown that such an N-doped TiO₂ system crystallizes in the anatase structure. The optical absorption spectra have clearly shown the shift in the absorption edge towards the visible-light range, which indicates successful nitrogen doping. The nitrogen doping has been further confirmed by photoluminescence and photoemission spectroscopy. Microscopy studies have shown the thin nanosheets (petals) of N-TiO₂ with a thickness of ∼2-3 nm, assembled in the form of the marigold flower with a high surface area (224 m(2) g(-1)). The N-TiO₂ nanostructure with marigold flowers is an efficient photocatalyst for the decomposition of H₂S and production of hydrogen under solar light. The maximum hydrogen evolution obtained is higher than other known N-TiO₂ systems. It is noteworthy that photohydrogen production using the unique marigold flowers of N-TiO₂ from abundant H2S under solar light is hitherto unattempted. The proposed synthesis method can also be utilized to design other hierarchical nanostructured N-doped metal oxides.
authors: Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DietY), Govt. of India, Panchawati, off Pashan Road, Pune-411 008, India. kbbb1@yahoo.com.
authors: Nilima S
authors: NS
authors: Chaudhari
authors: Sambhaji S
authors: SS
authors: Warule
authors: Sushil A
authors: SA
authors: Dhanmane
authors: Milind V
authors: MV
authors: Kulkarni
authors: Matjaz
authors: M
authors: Valant
authors: Bharat B
authors: BB
authors: Kale
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: C009495:titanium dioxide; D006859:Hydrogen; D014025:Titanium; D009584:Nitrogen; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide