Structural and Electrical Conductivity Studies of PVDF-HFP Film Filled with Tio2 and Nacl for Polymer Semiconductors

As prospective electrolyte membranes are fabricated using a conducting copolymer of poly (vinylidene difluoride-co-hexaf luoropropy lene) (PVDF-HFP) by a solution casting method. The prepared membranes were filled with an electrical conductor (NaCl) and semiconductor (TiO2) nanopowder in this method. The assimilated membranes were analytically characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) for surface morphology and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for crystalline nature of the TiO2 nanopowder present in the prepared membrane. The FTIR confirms the structural analysis of the copolymer and the NaCl and TiO2 incorporation nature into the PVDF-HFP membrane. Electrochemical stability of the fabricated membrane of PVDF-HFP was performed using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The cyclic voltammetric analysis conducted the charge and discharge tests of the filled and unfilled membrane. The addition of nano TiO2 particles and NaCl to the copolymer membrane was found to reduce the PVDF-HFP membrane's porousness and improve the ion conductivity and electrolyte/electrode interfacial stability of the filled membrane.

Titanium Dioxide Microscale and Macroscale Structures: A Mini-Review

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have some limitations, such as their low surface area, high bandgap energy, and low recycling ability. To overcome these limitations, TiO2 can be prepared in microscale/macroscale structures. TiO2 microscale structures, in comparison with TiO2 nanopowder, have higher surface areas, more tunable pore structures, and better top photocatalytic activity. In contrast, for TiO2 macroscale structures, although the surface area is lower than TiO2 nanopowder in many cases, they still achieve similar or better photocatalytic performance due to their unique properties. Moreover, both TiO2 microscale and macroscale structures can be easily recovered from reaction media. The difference between these two types of TiO2 structures is a function not only of size but also of the preparation process. Every type of TiO2 structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, as will be discussed further in the following pages. Future perspectives on this research field also will be discussed.