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In order to obtain efficient electrophoretic inks, Tridodecylamine (Dod 3 N), has been studied as charge control agent (CCA) in a non-polar paraffin solvent (Isopar G) for various inorganic pigments (TiO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 ). All hydrophobic mineral oxides, i.e. treated with octyltrimethoxysilane (C8) or dodecyltrimethoxysilane (C12), were found to be negatively charged in presence of Dod 3 N. The electrophoretic mobilities of inorganic pigments seemed to be strongly dependent of their isoelectric point (IEP) and also of the concentration of dod 3 N with an optimum range between 10 and 20 mM depending on the pigments. Finally, an electrophoretic ink constituted of hydrophobic mineral oxides in presence of Dod 3 N was tested in a device. Its efficiency as charge control agent to negatively charge hydrophobic particles was confirmed through good optical properties and fast response time (220 ms at 200 kV m −1 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • TiO 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 -annealed photoanode was successfully fabricated. • TiO 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 -annealed exhibited 6.21 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4. • Interfacial charge and surface defect regulation together to boost performance. As an n-type narrow band gap ternary sulfide semiconductor, CdIn 2 S 4 exhibits favourable photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance. However, severe photogenerated carrier recombination and slow surface dynamics at the interface of monomer CdIn 2 S 4 restrict its application. Herein, we addressed the problem by fabricating a TiO 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 -annealed photoanode by two-step anodization method, hydrothermal method and annealing treatment. As a result, the TiO 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 -annealed photoanode exhibited 6.21 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which was much higher than the pure CdIn 2 S 4 (0.05 mA/cm2) and TiO 2 (0.14 mA/cm2), and was 9 times higher than TiO 2 /CdIn 2 S 4 (0.68 mA/cm2). This excellent performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect of interfacial charge regulation (introducing TiO 2 NTs as electron transport layer) and surface defect regulation (introducing sulfur vacancies as OER active centers to facilitate hole transport). By this way, the photogenerated electrons and holes of CdIn 2 S 4 were simultaneously extracted in opposite directions. Experimental characterizations confirmed the introduction of TiO 2 and sulfur vacancies can enhance the separation and injection efficiency of carriers. This work provides a new idea for regulating interface charges and surface defects to improve the PEC activity of CdIn 2 S 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple mechanical grinding method was used to adsorb aniline organic molecules on the surface of TiO 2. The reduction capacity of the photocatalyst and the amount of surface charge increase simultaneously. [Display omitted] • At room temperature, simple mechanical grinding was used to successfully adsorb organic aniline molecules on the surface of TiO 2. • After aniline was adsorbed, the photoreduction capacity of TiO 2 and the amount of surface charge increased synchronously. • The preparation method is simple, without precious metal additives, and the raw materials are abundant and easy to obtain. • Improved photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of commercial P25 with the help of a simple molecular adsorption strategy. The work explains the mechanism of photocatalytic performance enhancement and contributes to a better understanding of the process of photolytic hydrogen precipitation from molecularly modified nanomaterials. A higher conduction band position and more photogenerated electrons are distinctly important for the high-efficiency photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. However, raising conduction band position will enlarge the band gap and reduce the production of photogenerated electrons. Herein, a super simple and efficient ammonia molecular adsorption strategy was proposed and designed to promote efficient hydrogen production by a simple ammonia molecules adsorption on commercial TiO 2 surface. The experimental and theoretical calculation results indicated that aniline can be successfully adsorbed on TiO 2 surface by a straightforward mechanical grinding method, and the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of TiO 2 can be improved by more than 9 times after the adsorption of aniline. This is because the adsorbed aniline can provide electrons to the TiO 2 surface and lead to a charge redistribution and accumulation on the surface of TiO 2. Excessive electrons make the conduction band of TiO 2 bend upward, thus improving the photogenerated electron reduction ability and the photocatalytic performance of TiO 2. In addition, the adsorption of aniline enables TiO 2 to show light absorption in the visible region, generating more photogenerated electrons to participate in the photocatalytic water splitting reaction. In this work, the molecular adsorption strategy is not only simple to operate, but also can improve the photoreduction ability and surface charge quantity of materials. It provides a simple and efficient new method for photocatalyst modification in addition to the traditional modification methods such as doping compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]