Probing Porosity and Pore Interconnectivity in Self-Assembled TiO2–Graphene Hybrid Nanostructures Using Hyperpolarized 129Xe NMR

Journal Article · Thu Jan 12 04:00:00 EST 2012 · Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jp2047008· OSTI ID:1036072

Wang, Li Qiong; Wang, Donghai; Liu, Jun; Exarhos, Gregory J

Hyperpolarized (HP) {sup 129}Xe NMR was used to probe the porosity and interconnectivity of pores in self-assembled hybrid TiO{sub 2}-graphene nanostructures. We have demonstrated that HP {sup 129}Xe NMR is a powerful technique in probing any changes in porosity and interconnectivity of the pores caused by addition of a small amount of functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) (1% weight percent) into the network of mesoporous TiO{sub 2}. To obtain the information on the changes in porosity and interconnectivity of the pores caused by addition of a small amount of FGSs, a comparative study has been carried out by acquiring HP {sup 129}Xe NMR spectra under identical experimental conditions for both pure mesoporous TiO{sub 2} and hybrid TiO{sub 2}-FGSs. The HP {sup 129}Xe NMR results from our comparative study suggest that TiO{sub 2} and graphene are mixed uniformly on the nanoscale and the resulting hybrid nanostructure has better channel connectivity between different domains, enhancing the transport property for Li-insertion/extraction.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1036072
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-78124; KC0201050
• Journal Information: Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry C Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 116; ISSN 1932-7447
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
NANOSTRUCTURES
NMR SPECTRA
POROSITY
PROBES
TRANSPORT