Structure of Ni nanoparticles/TiO2 films prepared by sol-gel dip-coating

Titania thin films were synthesized by sol-gel dip-coating method with metallic Ni nanoparticles (~10 nm) from an organometallic precursor. Titania matrix and Ni nanoparticles were prepared separately. The precursors employed to prepare Titania were titanium isopropoxide, isopropanol, methanol and acetic acid. Nickel nanostructures were synthesized from Ni(COD)2 (COD=cycloocta-1,5-diene) under H2 atmosphere in THF with 1,3-diaminopropane as stabilizer. Colloidal solution of Ni nanoparticles was added to sol. Ni/TiO2 sol system was used to coat glass spheres substrates and further heat treatment at 400 °C. The photocatalytic activity of the Ni/TiO2 films was evaluated in H2 evolution from decomposition of ethanol using a mercury lamp for UV light irradiation. The prepared Ni/TiO2 was characterized using AFM, UV-Vis, TEM and HR-TEM.