Conducting interface in oxide homojunction: Understanding of superior properties in black TiO2

Lu, Xujie; Chen, Aiping; Luo, Yongkang; Lu, Ping; Dai, Yaomin; Enriquez, Erik M.; Dowden, Paul Charles; Xu, Hongwu; Kotula, Paul G.; Azad, Abul Kalam; Yarotski, Dmitry Anatolievitch; Prasankumar, Rohit Prativadi; Taylor, Antoinette Jane; Thompson, Joe David; Jia, Quanxi

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02454

Conducting interface in oxide homojunction: Understanding of superior properties in black TiO₂

Journal Article · Wed Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02454· OSTI ID:1331278

Lu, Xujie ^[1]; Chen, Aiping ^[1]; Luo, Yongkang ^[1]; Lu, Ping ^[2]; Dai, Yaomin ^[1]; Enriquez, Erik M. ^[1]; Dowden, Paul Charles ^[1]; Xu, Hongwu ^[1]; Kotula, Paul G. ^[2]; Azad, Abul Kalam ^[1]; Yarotski, Dmitry Anatolievitch ^[1]; Prasankumar, Rohit Prativadi ^[1]; Taylor, Antoinette Jane ^[1]; Thompson, Joe David ^[1]; Jia, Quanxi ^[1]

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Black TiO₂ nanoparticles with a crystalline core and amorphous-shell structure exhibit superior optoelectronic properties in comparison with pristine TiO₂. The fundamental mechanisms underlying these enhancements, however, remain unclear, largely due to the inherent complexities and limitations of powder materials. Here, we fabricate TiO₂ homojunction films consisting of an oxygen-deficient amorphous layer on top of a highly crystalline layer, to simulate the structural/functional configuration of black TiO₂ nanoparticles. Metallic conduction is achieved at the crystalline–amorphous homointerface via electronic interface reconstruction, which we show to be the main reason for the enhanced electron transport of black TiO₂. As a result, this work not only achieves an unprecedented understanding of black TiO₂ but also provides a new perspective for investigating carrier generation and transport behavior at oxide interfaces, which are of tremendous fundamental and technological interest.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1331278

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-16-22153

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 16; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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