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Zheng Y, Wang P, Zhu S, Wu M, Zhang L, Feng C, Li D, Chang Z, Chong R. Rational Design of CoOOH/α-Fe 2O 3/SnO 2 for Boosted Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation: The Roles of Underneath SnO 2 and Surface CoOOH. Inorg Chem 2024; 63:2745-2755. [PMID: 38241145 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c04129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Hematite (α-Fe2O3) photoanode is a promising candidate for efficient PEC solar energy conversion. However, the serious charge recombination together with the sluggish water oxidation kinetics of α-Fe2O3 still restricts its practical application in renewable energy systems. In this work, a CoOOH/α-Fe2O3/SnO2 photoanode was fabricated, in which the ultrathin SnO2 underlayer is deposited on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate, α-Fe2O3 nanorod array is the absorber layer, and CoOOH nanosheet is the surface modifier, respectively. The resulting CoOOH/α-Fe2O3/SnO2 exhibited excellent PEC water splitting with a high photocurrent density of 2.05 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs RHE in the alkaline electrolyte, which is ca. 3.25 times that of bare α-Fe2O3. PEC characterizations demonstrated that SnO2 not only could block hole transport from α-Fe2O3 to FTO substrate but also could efficiently enhance the light-harvesting property and reduce the surface states by controlling the growth process of α-Fe2O3, while the CoOOH overlayer as cocatalysts could rapidly extract the photogenerated holes and provide catalytic active sites for water oxidation. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of SnO2 and CoOOH, the efficiency of the charge recombination and the overpotential for water oxidation of α-Fe2O3 are obviously decreased, resulting in the boosted PEC efficiency for water oxidation. The rational design and simple fabrication strategy display great potentials to be used for other PEC systems with excellent efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuting Zheng
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Penglong Wang
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Shuai Zhu
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Mingwei Wu
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Ling Zhang
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Caixia Feng
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Deliang Li
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Zhixian Chang
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Ruifeng Chong
- Henan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Green Anticorrosion Technology for Magnesium Alloys, Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Pollution, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
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Prakash O, Saxena V, Bedi R, Debnath A, Mahajan A. Solution processable transition metal oxide ultra-thin films as alternative electron transport and hole blocking layers in dye sensitized solar cells. J Photochem Photobiol A Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotochem.2021.113385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Jo YW, Loka C, Lee KS, Lim JH. Fabrication of Ag 2O/WO 3 p-n heterojunction composite thin films by magnetron sputtering for visible light photocatalysis. RSC Adv 2020; 10:16187-16195. [PMID: 35493680 PMCID: PMC9052880 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra01579b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Semiconductor-based nanostructures which are photo-catalytically active upon solar light irradiation were extensively used for environmental remediation due to the potential decomposition of various kinds of pollutants. In this work, we report the preparation of a sustainable thin film composite, i.e. Ag2O/WO3 p-n heterojunction, and investigation of its photocatalytic activity. To achieve the composite structure, WO3/Ag-WO3 layers were deposited over a quartz substrate by magnetron sputtering at room temperature and subsequently annealed at 823 to 923 K. The thin film structure, morphology, and chemical states were thoroughly characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The obtained results revealed that the amorphous Ag-doped WO3 was crystallized into monoclinic WO3 and Ag2O, in which nanocrystalline Ag2O was diffused towards the surface of WO3. Optical transmittance spectra recorded by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy revealed that the WO3/Ag-WO3 films became transparant in the visible region after annealing at high temperature (873 K and 923 K). The Ag2O/WO3 p-n heterojunction composite thin films showed high photocatalytic activity (0.915 × 10-3 min-1) under visible light irradiation, which is attributed to the efficiency of effective photogenerated charge-carrier formation and the reduced recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Unlike the powder-based photocatalysts, the reported thin film-based heterojunction photocatalyst could be very sustainable, and cost-effective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Woong Jo
- Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Smart Natural Space Research Centre, Kongju National University Cheonan-31080 South Korea
| | - Chadrasekhar Loka
- Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Smart Natural Space Research Centre, Kongju National University Cheonan-31080 South Korea
| | - Kee-Sun Lee
- Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Smart Natural Space Research Centre, Kongju National University Cheonan-31080 South Korea
| | - Jae-Hyun Lim
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Kongju National University Cheonan 331-717 South Korea
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Oh WC, Cho KY, Jung CH, Areerob Y. Hybrid of Graphene based on quaternary Cu 2ZnNiSe 4 -WO 3 Nanorods for Counter Electrode in Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Application. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4738. [PMID: 32179805 PMCID: PMC7075898 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61363-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A novel nanohybrid of graphene-based Cu2ZnNiSe4 with WO3 nanorods (G-CZNS@W) was successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method to use as a counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The characterization technique confirmed the structural and morphologies of the G-CZNS@W nanohybrid, which could show rapid electrons transfer pathway through the WO3 nanorods. Moreover, the as-fabricated G-CZNS@W nanohybrid exhibited synergetic effect between G-CZNS and a WO3 nanorod, which could affect the electrocatalytic activity towards triiodide reaction. The nanohybrid exhibits an excellent photovoltaic performance of 12.16%, which is higher than that of the standard Pt electrode under the same conditions. The G-CZNS@W nanohybrid material as CE thus offers a promising low-cost Pt-free counter electrode for DSSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Won Chun Oh
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, 232001, P.R. China. .,Department of Advanced Materials Science & Engineering, Hanseo University, Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, 31962, South Korea.
| | - Kwang Youn Cho
- Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology, Soho-ro, Jinju-Si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
| | - Chong Hun Jung
- Decontamination & Decommisioning Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, P.O. Box 105, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-600, South Korea
| | - Yonrapach Areerob
- Department of Advanced Materials Science & Engineering, Hanseo University, Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, 31962, South Korea.
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