Synthesis of photofunctional ceramics by various solution processes

Abstract

In this study, photofunctional ceramics such as phosphors and photocatalysts were synthesized by various solution methods. Titanium oxide (TiO2) photocatalysts were synthesized via hydrothermal reactions of water-soluble titanium complexes. Singlephase anatase, rutile, brookite, and bronze were prepared using different pH levels and ligands. Thin films fabricated from bronze-phase TiO2 showed photoinduced hydrophilicity, and the hydrophilic state was maintained for 5 days in darkness. Y 2O3:Eu and YBO3:Tb phosphors with spherical, hexagonal-plate, and cubical shapes were prepared by precipitation from homogeneous solutions; nanoparticles of these oxides were also prepared. The morphology of the prepared Ag3PO4 photocatalyst particles was controlled to be rhombic dodecahedral, dodecapodal, or tetrapodal by precipitation from homogeneous solutions. Oxide up-conversion phosphors were investigated, and CeO2 doped with Yb, Er, Ho, or Tm by parallel synthesis using the polymerizable complex method was found to be a superior polychromatic up-conversion phosphor. © 2013 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.