Functional Polymer Templates for Metal Oxide Nanostructures
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Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
Cheng, Yen ThengAbstract
Functional nanostructured metal oxides have attracted tremendous attention in the last several decades owing to their superior semiconducting, catalytic, and electronic properties over their bulk counterparts. While bulk metal oxide materials are typically robust, nanostructured ...
See moreFunctional nanostructured metal oxides have attracted tremendous attention in the last several decades owing to their superior semiconducting, catalytic, and electronic properties over their bulk counterparts. While bulk metal oxide materials are typically robust, nanostructured metal oxides have been proven to show enhanced performances due to higher surface-to-volume ratios and shorter ion or electron diffusion paths. The soft templating approaches in combination with controlled polymer syntheses are particularly intriguing as they allow new opportunities to tailor the morphology and composition of the metal oxide nanostructures. The present Thesis aimed to investigate the synthesis of functional polymeric templates using reversible deactivation radical polymerisations that enable facile electrostatic complexation between the polymer templates and the inorganic precursors to nanostructure metal oxides with well-defined morphologies. In the first research chapter, we demonstrated polymerisation-induced self-aseembly as a scalable and modular synthesis approach to yield mesoporous carbon-coated anatase TiO2 in worm-like and vesicular morphologies. We also showed that the worm-like and vesicular carbon-coated TiO2 are viable as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In the second research chapter, we utilised cellulose nanocrystal polymer bottlebrushes to construct mesoporous carbon-coated anatase TiO2 nanorods and studied their electrochemical performance as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In the last research chapter, we extended the templating approach from the second research chapter to form niobium-based oxides (Nb2O5 polymorphs and titanium niobium oxides).
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See moreFunctional nanostructured metal oxides have attracted tremendous attention in the last several decades owing to their superior semiconducting, catalytic, and electronic properties over their bulk counterparts. While bulk metal oxide materials are typically robust, nanostructured metal oxides have been proven to show enhanced performances due to higher surface-to-volume ratios and shorter ion or electron diffusion paths. The soft templating approaches in combination with controlled polymer syntheses are particularly intriguing as they allow new opportunities to tailor the morphology and composition of the metal oxide nanostructures. The present Thesis aimed to investigate the synthesis of functional polymeric templates using reversible deactivation radical polymerisations that enable facile electrostatic complexation between the polymer templates and the inorganic precursors to nanostructure metal oxides with well-defined morphologies. In the first research chapter, we demonstrated polymerisation-induced self-aseembly as a scalable and modular synthesis approach to yield mesoporous carbon-coated anatase TiO2 in worm-like and vesicular morphologies. We also showed that the worm-like and vesicular carbon-coated TiO2 are viable as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In the second research chapter, we utilised cellulose nanocrystal polymer bottlebrushes to construct mesoporous carbon-coated anatase TiO2 nanorods and studied their electrochemical performance as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. In the last research chapter, we extended the templating approach from the second research chapter to form niobium-based oxides (Nb2O5 polymorphs and titanium niobium oxides).
See less
Date
2022Rights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Science, School of ChemistryAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare