Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Charge transfer
- All Subjects: Lithium
- Creators: Crozier, Peter
- Creators: Karwat, Darshawn
Description
LiNbO3 and ZnO have shown great potential for photochemical surface reactions and specific photocatalytic processes. However, the efficiency of LiNbO3 is limited due to recombination or back reactions and ZnO exhibits a chemical instability in a liquid cell. In this dissertation, both materials were coated with precise thickness of metal oxide layers to passivate the surfaces and to enhance their photocatalytic efficiency. LiNbO3 was coated with plasma enhanced atomic layer deposited (PEALD) ZnO and Al2O3, and molecular beam deposited TiO2 and VO2. On the other hand, PEALD ZnO and single crystal ZnO were passivated with PEALD SiO2 and Al2O3.
Metal oxide/LiNbO3 heterostructures were immersed in aqueous AgNO3 solutions and illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light to form Ag nanoparticle patterns. Alternatively, Al2O3 and SiO2/ZnO heterostructures were immersed in K3PO4 buffer solutions and studied for photoelectrochemical reactions. A fundamental aspect of the heterostructures is the band alignment and band bending, which was deduced from in situ photoemission measurements.
This research has provided insight to three aspects of the heterostructures. First, the band alignment at the interface of metal oxides/LiNbO3, and Al2O3 or SiO2/ZnO were used to explain the possible charge transfer processes and the direction of carrier flow in the heterostructures. Second, the effect of metal oxide coatings on the LiNbO3 with different internal carrier concentrations was related to the surface photochemical reactions. Third is the surface passivation and degradation mechanism of Al2O3 and SiO2 on ZnO was established. The heterostructures were characterized after stability tests using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
The results indicate that limited thicknesses of ZnO or TiO2 on polarity patterned LiNbO3 (PPLN) enhances the Ag+ photoinduced reduction process. ZnO seems more efficient than TiO2 possibly due to a higher carrier mobility. However, an increase of the ZnO thickness (≥ 4 nm) reduced the effect of the PPLN substrate on the Ag nanoparticle pattern. For the case of Al2O3 and SiO2/ZnO heterostructures, SiO2 remains intact through 1 h stability tests. Unlike SiO2, Al2O3 shows surface degradation after a short stability test of a few minutes. Thus, SiO2 provides improved passivation over Al2O3. A detailed microscopy analysis indicates the underneath ZnO photocorrodes in the SiO2/ZnO samples, which is possibly due to transport of ions through the SiO2 protective layer.
Metal oxide/LiNbO3 heterostructures were immersed in aqueous AgNO3 solutions and illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light to form Ag nanoparticle patterns. Alternatively, Al2O3 and SiO2/ZnO heterostructures were immersed in K3PO4 buffer solutions and studied for photoelectrochemical reactions. A fundamental aspect of the heterostructures is the band alignment and band bending, which was deduced from in situ photoemission measurements.
This research has provided insight to three aspects of the heterostructures. First, the band alignment at the interface of metal oxides/LiNbO3, and Al2O3 or SiO2/ZnO were used to explain the possible charge transfer processes and the direction of carrier flow in the heterostructures. Second, the effect of metal oxide coatings on the LiNbO3 with different internal carrier concentrations was related to the surface photochemical reactions. Third is the surface passivation and degradation mechanism of Al2O3 and SiO2 on ZnO was established. The heterostructures were characterized after stability tests using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
The results indicate that limited thicknesses of ZnO or TiO2 on polarity patterned LiNbO3 (PPLN) enhances the Ag+ photoinduced reduction process. ZnO seems more efficient than TiO2 possibly due to a higher carrier mobility. However, an increase of the ZnO thickness (≥ 4 nm) reduced the effect of the PPLN substrate on the Ag nanoparticle pattern. For the case of Al2O3 and SiO2/ZnO heterostructures, SiO2 remains intact through 1 h stability tests. Unlike SiO2, Al2O3 shows surface degradation after a short stability test of a few minutes. Thus, SiO2 provides improved passivation over Al2O3. A detailed microscopy analysis indicates the underneath ZnO photocorrodes in the SiO2/ZnO samples, which is possibly due to transport of ions through the SiO2 protective layer.
ContributorsKaur, Manpuneet (Author) / Nemanich, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Dey, Sandwip (Committee member) / Crozier, Peter (Committee member) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Lithium ion batteries are quintessential components of modern life. They are used to power smart devices — phones, tablets, laptops, and are rapidly becoming major elements in the automotive industry. Demand projections for lithium are skyrocketing with production struggling to keep up pace. This drive is due mostly to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles; sales of electric vehicles in 2020 are more than double what they were only a year prior. With such staggering growth it is important to understand how lithium is sourced and what that means for the environment. Will production even be capable of meeting the demand as more industries make use of this valuable element? How will the environmental impact of lithium affect growth? This thesis attempts to answer these questions as the world looks to a decade of rapid growth for lithium ion batteries.
ContributorsMelton, John (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Karwat, Darshawn (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Photocatalytic water splitting is a promising technique to produce H2 fuels from water using sustainable solar energy. To better design photocatalysts, the understanding of charge transfer at surfaces/interfaces and the corresponding structure change during the reaction is very important. Local structural and chemical information on nanoparticle surfaces or interfaces can be achieved through characterizations on transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Emphasis should be put on materials structure changes during the reactions in their “working conditions”. Environmental TEM with in situ light illumination system allows the photocatalysts to be studied under light irradiation when exposed to H2O vapor. A set of ex situ and in situ TEM characterizations are carried out on typical types of TiO2 based photocatalysts. The observed structure changes during the reaction are correlated with the H2 production rate for structure-property relationships.
A surface disordering was observed in situ when well-defined anatase TiO2 rhombohedral nanoparticles were exposed to 1 Torr H2O vapor and 10suns light inside the environmental TEM. The disordering is believed to be related to high density of hydroxyl groups formed on surface oxygen vacancies during water splitting reactions.
Pt co-catalyst on TiO2 is able to split pure water producing H2 and O2. The H2 production rate drops during the reaction. Particle size growth during reaction was discovered with Z-contrast images. The particle size growth is believed to be a photo-electro-chemical Ostwald ripening.
Characterizations were also carried out on a more complicated photocatalyst system: Ni/NiO core/shell co-catalyst on TiO2. A decrease of the H2 production rate resulting from photo-corrosion was observed. The Ni is believed to be oxidized to Ni2+ by OH• radicals which are intermediate products of H2O oxidation. The mechanism that the OH• radicals leak into the cores through cracks on NiO shells is more supported by experiments.
Overall this research has done a comprehensive ex situ and in situ TEM characterizations following some typical TiO2 based photocatalysts during reactions. This research has shown the technique availability to study photocatalyst inside TEM in photocatalytic conditions. It also demonstrates the importance to follow structure changes of materials during reactions in understanding deactivation mechanisms.
A surface disordering was observed in situ when well-defined anatase TiO2 rhombohedral nanoparticles were exposed to 1 Torr H2O vapor and 10suns light inside the environmental TEM. The disordering is believed to be related to high density of hydroxyl groups formed on surface oxygen vacancies during water splitting reactions.
Pt co-catalyst on TiO2 is able to split pure water producing H2 and O2. The H2 production rate drops during the reaction. Particle size growth during reaction was discovered with Z-contrast images. The particle size growth is believed to be a photo-electro-chemical Ostwald ripening.
Characterizations were also carried out on a more complicated photocatalyst system: Ni/NiO core/shell co-catalyst on TiO2. A decrease of the H2 production rate resulting from photo-corrosion was observed. The Ni is believed to be oxidized to Ni2+ by OH• radicals which are intermediate products of H2O oxidation. The mechanism that the OH• radicals leak into the cores through cracks on NiO shells is more supported by experiments.
Overall this research has done a comprehensive ex situ and in situ TEM characterizations following some typical TiO2 based photocatalysts during reactions. This research has shown the technique availability to study photocatalyst inside TEM in photocatalytic conditions. It also demonstrates the importance to follow structure changes of materials during reactions in understanding deactivation mechanisms.
ContributorsZhang, Liuxian (Author) / Crozier, Peter (Thesis advisor) / Smith, David (Committee member) / Chan, Candace (Committee member) / Liu, Jingyue (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Lithium conducting garnets in the family of Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) are promising lithium conductors for solid-state batteries, due to their high ionic conductivity, thermal stability, and electrochemical stability with metallic lithium. Despite these advantages, LLZO requires a large energy input to synthesize and process. Generally, LLZO is synthesized using solid-state reaction (SSR) from oxide precursors, requiring high reaction temperatures (900-1000 °C) and producing powder with large particle sizes, necessitating high energy milling to improve sinterability. In this dissertation, two classes of advanced synthesis methods – sol-gel polymer-combustion and molten salt synthesis (MSS) – are employed to obtain LLZO submicron powders at lower temperatures. In the first case, nanopowders of LLZO are obtained in a few hours at 700 °C via a novel polymer combustion process, which can be sintered to dense electrolytes possessing ionic conductivity up to 0.67 mS cm-1 at room temperature. However, the limited throughput of this combustion process motivated the use of molten salt synthesis, wherein a salt mixture is used as a high temperature solvent, allowing faster interdiffusion of atomic species than solid-state reactions. A eutectic mixture of LiCl-KCl allows formation of submicrometer undoped, Al-doped, Ga-doped, and Ta-doped LLZO at 900 °C in 4 h, with total ionic conductivities between 0.23-0.46 mS cm-1. By using a highly basic molten salt medium, Ta-doped LLZO (LLZTO) can be obtained at temperatures as low as 550 °C, with an ionic conductivity of 0.61 mS cm-1. The formation temperature can be further reduced by using Ta-doped, La-excess pyrochlore-type lanthanum zirconate (La2Zr2O7, LZO) as a quasi-single-source precursor, which convert to LLZTO as low as 400 °C upon addition of a Li-source. Further, doped pyrochlores can be blended with a Li-source and directly sintered to a relative density up to 94.7% with high conductivity (0.53 mS cm-1). Finally, a propensity for compositional variation in LLZTO powders and sintered ceramics was observed and for the first time explored in detail. By comparing LLZTO obtained from combustion, MSS, and SSR, a correlation between increased elemental inhomogeneity and reduced ionic conductivity is observed. Implications for garnet-based solid-state batteries and strategies to mitigate elemental inhomogeneity are discussed.
ContributorsWeller, Jon Mark (Author) / Chan, Candace K (Thesis advisor) / Crozier, Peter (Committee member) / Sieradzki, Karl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021