The doctoral dissertation in the field of Material Chemistry will be examined at the Faculty of Science and Forestry, Joensuu Campus and online.
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
Innovations in materials science are continuously searched to address the grand challenges in society including renewable fuel production, and mitigation of CO2 emissions. Functionalizing photocatalyst materials is a promising strategy to respond to these kinds of challenges. In this study, three-dimensional TiO2 inverse opal structures are fabricated and used as a base material for further modifications and investigations for a better photocatalytic performance and wider the application into different fields.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
The results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 IO was improved when: (i) coupled with ZrO2 and functionalized by Au NPs; (ii) coated by a thin layer of SiO2 (layer thickness smaller than 1 nm); (iii) coated by a layer of TiO2; (iv) coated by a sub-monolayer of Cu. This indicates that the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 inverse opal structures can be tailored according to the desired application by changing the pore size, coupling with other semiconductors, or functionalization with different metals. It is believed that the results of this study can broaden the application of the prepared materials with enhanced performance in various fields and provide significant contributions to sustainable development.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
To achieve the goal, the first approach was nanostructured TiO2 in a three-dimensional inverse opal structure. The second approach was TiO2 IO coupled with other oxides (SiO2, ZrO2), which were functionalized with Au nanoparticles (NPs). The third approach was to functionalize the surface of TiO2 IO structure with different materials such as SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, and sub-monolayer of Cu by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The structure, morphology, and optical properties of the prepared materials were characterized by using XRD, SEM, EDS, STEM, and XPS. The photocatalytic response of as synthesized materials was evaluated by various methods such as the photodegradation of acetylene gas, the photodecomposition of methylene blue (MB), the reduction of CO2, and the antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria.
The doctoral dissertation of Khai Pham Dinh, MSc, entitled Functionalization of TiO2 inverse opal structures for tailored photocatalytic activity, will be examined at the Faculty of Science and Forestry. The Opponent will be Associate Professor Paola Vivo, Tampere University, and the Custos will be Professor Jarkko J. Saarinen, University of Eastern Finland. Language of the public defence is English.
For more information, please contact:
Khai Pham Dinh, khai.pham@uef.fi
