Low-temperature plasma processing of inkjet printed TiO2 photoanodes
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Fine mesoporous TiO2 are usually cured at high temperatures by means of a slow convection heating procedure (up to 350 °C) in order to remove all organic components present in the used ink. However, this high sintering temperature in unusable for processing of TiO2 layers prepared on substrates with low heat resistance. In a present time, there is a strong push towards the field of flexible electronics usually prepared on polymer substrate such a foils of PP or PET. We prepared hybrid mesoporous titania/silica electron-generating and transporting layers using a wet coating with a dispersion consisting of prefabricated titania nanoparticles and methyl silica binder. These layers were deposited by inkjet printing technique and further mineralized by low-temperature atmospheric pressure air plasma using so-called Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) to form a titania/silica hybrid nanocomposite coating. Number of tests on these layers were carried out such as scanning electron microscopy to reveal potential damage to nanocomposite layer. Chemical analysis was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The coating was further electrochemically investigated with linear sweep voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Based on acquired results we believe that the plasma mineralization process provides production performance superior to the previously-considered processes (thermal sintering and UV curing), taking only a fraction of the time required for them at far lower temperatures. |
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