• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.205-209
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• 2016

The influence of titania nanorods with an average diameter of 10 nm and an average length of 30 nm on the electrohydrodynamic instability of block copolymer (polystyrene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine)) thin film was investigated in this article. The presence of titania nanorods increased the dielectric constant of the film, which resulted in a systematic reduction in the wavelength of the surface instability. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy analysis indicated that the migration/aggregation of titania nanorods did not occur as a result of the applied electric field. This work can provide a simple route to the pattern formation using electrohydrodynamic instability with an aid of nanoparticles.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.247-252
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• 2015

The effect of precursor concentration on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of $TiO_2$nano-flowers was investigated in this study. An increase in crystallite size was observed with an increase in the concentration of the precursor (titanium butoxide). The FE-SEM micrographs of the as-prepared samples show a three-dimensional flower-like morphology. The flowers consist of several nanorods coming out of a single core and have very sharp edges. Also, the variation in the aspect ratio of the nanostructure was observed with the concentration of the precursor. The photocatalytic properties of the samples show that the sample that has a high aspect ratio (AR~9) has a much better photocatalytic activity compared to the nano-crystal with a low aspect ratio (AR~6.1). It is believed that the excellent photocatalytic performance and short time synthesis of $TiO_2$nano-flowers using the microwave hydrothermal method can have potential applications in the field of photocatalysis.