Control of Atomic or Nano-Scale Structure of Functional Metal Oxides for Clean Energy Conversion Systems

抄録

In this comprehensive paper, we present an overview of our recent studies in reveal of influences of “atomic- and nano-scale structure” on catalytic and photocatalytic activity or preparation of functional materials for clean energy conversion systems such as water splitting, solar cells, photocatalysts and fuel cells. In the case of atomic scale structures, amorphous and atomic-scale roughed surface structure of RuO₂ and TiO₂ shows high catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction. On the other hand, in the case of nano-scale structures, the anodic porous TiO₂ films controlled their crystallinity and pore size can be used as new applications such as flexible dye sensitized solar cells and size selective photocatalysts. The porous Al₂O₃ films can be used as a template for formation of highly durable platelet carbon nanofiber supports of cathode electrode for fuel cells.