The stability of optical properties under irradiation for ZnO micropowder modified with TiO2 nanoparticles

It has been experimentally proven for the first time that nanoparticles deposited on the surface of a micropowder perform the role of relaxation centers for the primary defects induced by radiation. This article focuses on the results of studying the radiation stability of ZnO powders modified with TiO2 nanoparticles. The study shows the presence of the three processes that pre-determine the change of diffuse reflectance spectra and solar absorptance: 1) TiO2 powders deposited on the surface of micropowder grains perform the role of a protective layer by absorbing a part of incident radiation; 2) when exposed to radiation, primary defects are formed inside a micropowder, that is, electron - hole pairs transforming into intrinsic defects; 3) the nanoparticles act as relaxation centers for primary defects formed inside the grains and granules of micron-size particles, which reduces the concentration of the former.

Automated summary

It has been experimentally proven for the first time that nanoparticles deposited on the surface of a micropowder perform the role of relaxation centers for the primary defects induced by radiation. This study focuses on the radiation stability of ZnO powders modified with TiO2 nanoparticles. The results show that TiO2 powders act as a protective layer by absorbing part of the incident radiation. When exposed to radiation, primary defects are formed inside the micropowder, and the nanoparticles act as relaxation centers for these defects, reducing their concentration.