Controllable synthesis of graphene-based titanium dioxide nanocomposites by atomic layer deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to synthesize graphene-based metal oxide nanocomposites. This strategy was fulfilled on the preparation of TiO2-graphene nanosheet (TiO2-GNS) nanocomposites using titanium isopropoxide and water as precursors. The synthesized nanocomposites demonstrated that ALD exhibited many benefits in a controllable means. It was found that the as-deposited TiO2 was tunable not only in its morphologies but also in its structural phases. As for the former, TiO2 was transferable from nanoparticles to nanofilms with increased cycles. With regard to the latter, TiO2 was changeable from amorphous to crystalline phase, and even a mixture of the two with increased growth temperatures (up to 250 degrees C). The underlying growth mechanisms were discussed and the resultant TiO2-GNS nanocomposites have great potentials for many applications, such as photocatalysis, lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and sensors.