4.5 Article

Ultrathin-Walled 3D Inorganic Nanostructured Networks Templated from Cross-Linked Cellulose Nanocrystal Aerogels

Journal

ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
Volume 8, Issue 11, Pages -

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/admi.202001181

Keywords

3D network structure; atomic layer deposition; nanocellulose; templating; water splitting

Funding

  1. Academy of Finland [141481, 286713, 309920]
  2. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Student Research Award (NSERC-USRA)
  3. Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation
  4. NSERC
  5. Academy of Finland Flagship Programme, Photonics Research, and Innovation (PREIN) [320 165]
  6. Academy of Finland (AKA) [309920, 286713, 141481, 309920, 286713, 141481] Funding Source: Academy of Finland (AKA)

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This work describes the fabrication of 3D nanostructured TiO2 monoliths by coating ultraporous cross-linked cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogel templates with TiO2 layers of controlled thickness via atomic layer deposition (ALD). The resulting hollow inorganic ultraporous 3D networks are the thinnest self-supporting semiconductive structure fabricated directly on a conductive substrate, showing increased water splitting efficiency with a thin TiO2 coating.
A key challenge in the development of materials for applications in the fields of opto- and nanoelectronics, catalysis, separation, and energy conversion is the ability to fabricate 3D inorganic semiconductive nanostructures in a precisely-controlled and cost-effective manner. This work describes the fabrication of 3D nanostructured TiO2 monoliths by coating ultraporous cross-linked cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogel templates with TiO2 layers of controlled thickness via atomic layer deposition (ALD). Following calcination, the resulting hollow inorganic ultraporous 3D networks form the thinnest self-supporting semiconductive structure (7 nm) fabricated directly on a conductive substrate. The CNC-templated ALD-TiO2 electrodes are applied toward photoelectrochemical water splitting. The results show that a TiO2 coating as thin as 15 nm produces a maximum water splitting efficiency, resulting in materials savings and reduced fabrication time.

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