Materials composed of titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2) have received enormous scientific interest due to titania’s abundance, non-toxicity, and photocatalytic proficiency, however its large band gap limits its applicability under ambient conditions. Various attempts have been made to incorporate titania into composite systems to sensitize it for activity under a broader range of wavelengths. One such method includes utilizing narrow band gap semiconductors to form an electron transfer process analogous to photosynthesis referred to as a Z-scheme. Z-scheme systems can catalyze the decomposition of aqueous pollutants via generation of reactive oxygen species after input of sunlight. This work reports the design of a photocatalyst consisting of macroporous inverse opal (io) TiO2 embedded with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) into binary and ternary systems. These composites, labeled ioTiO2-Au, ioTiO2-CdS, and ioTiO2-Au-CdS are characterized via SEM, EDX, solid-state UV-vis, and Raman, and are subsequently evaluated for their photocatalytic efficiency against the pollutant analog trypan blue (TryB) under UV and white light LED lighting conditions. It was found that binary ioTiO2-CdS exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, with a rate constant 7.8, 5.2, 6.5, and 1.6 times faster than singular ioTiO2 and CdS, binary ioTiO2-Au, and ternary ioTiO2-Au-CdS under UV, respectively. Under white light LED all systems exhibit reduced activity, with ioTiO2-Au-CdS and ioTiO2-CdS showing no statistical difference, however, the ternary system performed most consistently across both light sources, retaining 92% of its UV performance. Loss of CdS due to photocorrosion limits recyclability of the thin films.
","abstract_html":"<p>Materials composed of titanium (IV) oxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) have received enormous scientific interest due to titania’s abundance, non-toxicity, and photocatalytic proficiency, however its large band gap limits its applicability under ambient conditions. Various attempts have been made to incorporate titania into composite systems to sensitize it for activity under a broader range of wavelengths. One such method includes utilizing narrow band gap semiconductors to form an electron transfer process analogous to photosynthesis referred to as a Z-scheme. Z-scheme systems can catalyze the decomposition of aqueous pollutants via generation of reactive oxygen species after input of sunlight. This work reports the design of a photocatalyst consisting of macroporous inverse opal (<em>io</em>) TiO<sub>2</sub> embedded with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) into binary and ternary systems. These composites, labeled <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-Au, <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-CdS, and <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-Au-CdS are characterized via SEM, EDX, solid-state UV-vis, and Raman, and are subsequently evaluated for their photocatalytic efficiency against the pollutant analog trypan blue (TryB) under UV and white light LED lighting conditions. It was found that binary <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-CdS exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, with a rate constant 7.8, 5.2, 6.5, and 1.6 times faster than singular <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub> and CdS, binary <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-Au, and ternary <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-Au-CdS under UV, respectively. Under white light LED all systems exhibit reduced activity, with <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-Au-CdS and <em>io</em>TiO<sub>2</sub>-CdS showing no statistical difference, however, the ternary system performed most consistently across both light sources, retaining 92% of its UV performance. Loss of CdS due to photocorrosion limits recyclability of the thin films.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Corella, Daniel A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Chemical Sciences (MSCB)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Bharat Baruah","Dr. Janet Shaw","Dr. Heather Abbott-Lyon"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-04-21T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-04-21T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:17Z","subjects":["inverse opal","photocatalysis","nanoparticles","quantum dots","environmental remediation","composite material","Catalysis and Reaction Engineering","Chemistry","Inorganic Chemistry","Materials Chemistry","Sustainability"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscs_etd/13","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Bharat Baruah","Dr. Janet Shaw","Dr. Heather Abbott-Lyon"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Corella, Daniel A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-05-05T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Chemistry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Chemical Sciences (MSCB)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["inverse opal","photocatalysis","nanoparticles","quantum dots","environmental remediation","composite material","Catalysis and Reaction Engineering","Chemistry","Inorganic Chemistry","Materials Chemistry","Sustainability"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscs_etd/13"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Materials composed of titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2) have received enormous scientific interest due to titania’s abundance, non-toxicity, and photocatalytic proficiency, however its large band gap limits its applicability under ambient conditions. Various attempts have been made to incorporate titania into composite systems to sensitize it for activity under a broader range of wavelengths. One such method includes utilizing narrow band gap semiconductors to form an electron transfer process analogous to photosynthesis referred to as a Z-scheme. Z-scheme systems can catalyze the decomposition of aqueous pollutants via generation of reactive oxygen species after input of sunlight. This work reports the design of a photocatalyst consisting of macroporous inverse opal (io) TiO2 embedded with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) into binary and ternary systems. These composites, labeled ioTiO2-Au, ioTiO2-CdS, and ioTiO2-Au-CdS are characterized via SEM, EDX, solid-state UV-vis, and Raman, and are subsequently evaluated for their photocatalytic efficiency against the pollutant analog trypan blue (TryB) under UV and white light LED lighting conditions. It was found that binary ioTiO2-CdS exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, with a rate constant 7.8, 5.2, 6.5, and 1.6 times faster than singular ioTiO2 and CdS, binary ioTiO2-Au, and ternary ioTiO2-Au-CdS under UV, respectively. Under white light LED all systems exhibit reduced activity, with ioTiO2-Au-CdS and ioTiO2-CdS showing no statistical difference, however, the ternary system performed most consistently across both light sources, retaining 92% of its UV performance. Loss of CdS due to photocorrosion limits recyclability of the thin films.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Design of 3D Macroporous Inverse Opal TiO2 Binary and Ternary Composites Sensitized with Gold Nanoparticles and CdS Quantum Dots for Photocatalysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Bharat Baruah","Dr. Janet Shaw","Dr. Heather Abbott-Lyon"],"dc:creator":["Corella, Daniel A"],"dc:date.available":["2018-05-05T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Materials composed of titanium (IV) oxide (TiO2) have received enormous scientific interest due to titania’s abundance, non-toxicity, and photocatalytic proficiency, however its large band gap limits its applicability under ambient conditions. Various attempts have been made to incorporate titania into composite systems to sensitize it for activity under a broader range of wavelengths. One such method includes utilizing narrow band gap semiconductors to form an electron transfer process analogous to photosynthesis referred to as a Z-scheme. Z-scheme systems can catalyze the decomposition of aqueous pollutants via generation of reactive oxygen species after input of sunlight. This work reports the design of a photocatalyst consisting of macroporous inverse opal (io) TiO2 embedded with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs) into binary and ternary systems. These composites, labeled ioTiO2-Au, ioTiO2-CdS, and ioTiO2-Au-CdS are characterized via SEM, EDX, solid-state UV-vis, and Raman, and are subsequently evaluated for their photocatalytic efficiency against the pollutant analog trypan blue (TryB) under UV and white light LED lighting conditions. It was found that binary ioTiO2-CdS exhibits the best photocatalytic performance, with a rate constant 7.8, 5.2, 6.5, and 1.6 times faster than singular ioTiO2 and CdS, binary ioTiO2-Au, and ternary ioTiO2-Au-CdS under UV, respectively. Under white light LED all systems exhibit reduced activity, with ioTiO2-Au-CdS and ioTiO2-CdS showing no statistical difference, however, the ternary system performed most consistently across both light sources, retaining 92% of its UV performance. Loss of CdS due to photocorrosion limits recyclability of the thin films.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/mscs_etd/13"],"dc:subject":["inverse opal","photocatalysis","nanoparticles","quantum dots","environmental remediation","composite material","Catalysis and Reaction Engineering","Chemistry","Inorganic Chemistry","Materials Chemistry","Sustainability"],"dc:title":["Design of 3D Macroporous Inverse Opal TiO2 Binary and Ternary Composites Sensitized with Gold Nanoparticles and CdS Quantum Dots for Photocatalysis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Chemical Sciences (MSCB)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:43:17Z"}