MnO2 and TiO2 based Nanocomposites for Macroscopic and Individual Nanodevices in Sensing, Energy Storage and Photocatalysis Applications

Abstract

The present nanotechnological trend is promising for the devices based on nanocomposites. We focus on three application areas, biosensing, energy storage and photocatalyst. A newer frontier trend is related to individual nano-devices based on individual nano-objects giving the exciting advantages. In the present work, the MnO2 and TiO2 nanocomposites were developed by simple and economical means. The MnO2 and Cu/MnO2 were potentiodynamically deposited on stainless steel sheets and ITO coated glass substrates for energy storage and sensing applications. The electrochemically anodized TiO2 nanotubes and Ag nanoparticles decorated TiO2 nanotubes were fabricated on Ti base for photocatalysis. The MnO2 film electrode, Cu/MnO2 film electrode, Ag/TiO2 nanotubes were preliminarily demonstrated as macroscopic devices in capacitors, glucose sensors and photocatalysis water treatments. The specific capacitance of MnO2 film electrode is as high as 135 Fg-1and the Cu/MnO2 sensor has the low detection limit of 0.986. For the water purification, the photodegradation efficiency of Ag/TiO2 nanotubes is as high as 95% under UV irradiation.