Nanostructured Titania

Nanostructured Titania (NST) is the anatase form of Titania that has a diverse structure and high surface area. Once synthesized, the substrate can be functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane. This modification lays down a monolayer of silane across the NST surface. However, since the silane molecules are extremely small and the monolayer is very smooth, it is difficult to confirm the adsorption reaction using conventional methodologies. Therefore, decorating the functionalized substrate with silver or gold colloidal nanoparticles is used to verify the presence of the silane molecules. Scanning Electron Microscopy was used to image the nanoparticles that are bounded to the metal oxide surface. The coverage of the nanoparticle in effect reflects the extent of silane adsorption that has occurred. A control experiment demonstrated that the nanoparticles only bound to the substrate’s surface that was treated with silane molecules. With the substrate modified by colloidal nanoparticles, the sensitive silane film becomes less delicate and does not readily degrade in the presence of moisture. Although bare NST substrates can be used for low pressure gas sensing, modified NST substrate can be used for a number of other applications such as Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, biomolecular detection, and mass spectrometry. The project thus aims to improve various techniques in the scientific field.