Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis

Efficient light harvesting is considered a promising approach towards the commercialization of heterogeneous photocatalysis. Accordingly, photonic crystals might be a perfect example, but their fabrication might be challenging. In this study, inverse opal titania (IOT) films were fabricated via a co...

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Main Authors: Lei Wang, Marcin Kobielusz, Zuzanna Bielan, Ewa Kowalska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Applied Surface Science Advances
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266652392500114X
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author Lei Wang
Marcin Kobielusz
Zuzanna Bielan
Ewa Kowalska
author_facet Lei Wang
Marcin Kobielusz
Zuzanna Bielan
Ewa Kowalska
author_sort Lei Wang
collection DOAJ
description Efficient light harvesting is considered a promising approach towards the commercialization of heterogeneous photocatalysis. Accordingly, photonic crystals might be a perfect example, but their fabrication might be challenging. In this study, inverse opal titania (IOT) films were fabricated via a co-assembly approach using a titania mixture sol containing both amorphous and crystalline titania. This method enables the preparation of highly ordered, crack-minimized structures by optimizing synthesis parameters. The obtained films were characterized by various methods (XRD, SEM, UV/vis) and tested towards photocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals (via hydroxylation of terephthalic acid). It has been found that both film thickness and crack-free morphology are decisive for photocatalytic performance. Interestingly, the irradiation angle influences not only optical properties (photonic bandgap (PBG) wavelength) but also overall photocatalytic activity. It has been found that 20° is the best angle of irradiation, at which additional bands are formed, corresponding to intrinsic photoabsorption by titania. Moreover, it is proposed that by simple change in irradiation angle, photonic properties could be tuned, allowing both photocatalytic activity enhancement and mechanism investigations.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2666-5239
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publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Elsevier
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series Applied Surface Science Advances
spelling doaj-art-86f54e7cdd5a45f1936a4333752dea2d2025-08-20T03:36:52ZengElsevierApplied Surface Science Advances2666-52392025-08-012810080610.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100806Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysisLei Wang0Marcin Kobielusz1Zuzanna Bielan2Ewa Kowalska3Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, Kraków 30-387, PolandCorresponding authors.; Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, Kraków 30-387, PolandFaculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, Kraków 30-387, PolandCorresponding authors.; Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, Kraków 30-387, PolandEfficient light harvesting is considered a promising approach towards the commercialization of heterogeneous photocatalysis. Accordingly, photonic crystals might be a perfect example, but their fabrication might be challenging. In this study, inverse opal titania (IOT) films were fabricated via a co-assembly approach using a titania mixture sol containing both amorphous and crystalline titania. This method enables the preparation of highly ordered, crack-minimized structures by optimizing synthesis parameters. The obtained films were characterized by various methods (XRD, SEM, UV/vis) and tested towards photocatalytic generation of hydroxyl radicals (via hydroxylation of terephthalic acid). It has been found that both film thickness and crack-free morphology are decisive for photocatalytic performance. Interestingly, the irradiation angle influences not only optical properties (photonic bandgap (PBG) wavelength) but also overall photocatalytic activity. It has been found that 20° is the best angle of irradiation, at which additional bands are formed, corresponding to intrinsic photoabsorption by titania. Moreover, it is proposed that by simple change in irradiation angle, photonic properties could be tuned, allowing both photocatalytic activity enhancement and mechanism investigations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266652392500114XInverse opalTitaniaCo-assemblyHydroxyl radicalsLight harvestingHeterogeneous photocatalysis
spellingShingle Lei Wang
Marcin Kobielusz
Zuzanna Bielan
Ewa Kowalska
Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
Applied Surface Science Advances
Inverse opal
Titania
Co-assembly
Hydroxyl radicals
Light harvesting
Heterogeneous photocatalysis
title Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
title_full Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
title_fullStr Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
title_full_unstemmed Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
title_short Development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
title_sort development of inverse opal titania films for efficient photocatalysis
topic Inverse opal
Titania
Co-assembly
Hydroxyl radicals
Light harvesting
Heterogeneous photocatalysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266652392500114X
work_keys_str_mv AT leiwang developmentofinverseopaltitaniafilmsforefficientphotocatalysis
AT marcinkobielusz developmentofinverseopaltitaniafilmsforefficientphotocatalysis
AT zuzannabielan developmentofinverseopaltitaniafilmsforefficientphotocatalysis
AT ewakowalska developmentofinverseopaltitaniafilmsforefficientphotocatalysis