Multiphase titanium oxide nanomaterial for augmented vis–NIR photon absorption

• We report a multiphase titanium oxide photoabsorptive nanomaterial.
• It has shown enhanced absorption of photons in the vis–NIR region (>600 nm).
• Synthesised via ultrashort laser pulse interaction process, it is free of dopants.

Nanomaterials based on titanium di-oxide (titania) are intensively being studied for their incorporation in the next generation photovoltaic devices due to titania׳s excellent photocatalytic properties. Inefficient utilisation of deeper visible and near infra-red region (NIR) photons has however limited the exploitation of such materials. In this paper, we report a unique titanium oxide nanomaterial that is sensitive to photons of wavelength even longer than 600 nm and is composed of not one but multiple phases of titanium oxide. It has exhibited enhanced absorption that is three times greater in visible region and six times greater in NIR than base titanium. Synthesised by a phenomenon created via the interaction of ultrashort pulses with a titanium substrate, this photoabsorptive nanomaterial is dopant free and is structurally formed as a dense three dimensional network. Further effective tuning of the optical properties of the synthesised multiphase titanium oxide nanomaterial can make it a potential absorber material in photovoltaic devices.

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