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Bhatti AL, Tahira A, Kumar S, Ujjan ZA, Bhatti MA, Kumar S, Aftab U, Karsy A, Nafady A, Infantes-Molina A, Ibupoto ZH. Facile synthesis of efficient Co 3O 4 nanostructures using the milky sap of Calotropis procera for oxygen evolution reactions and supercapacitor applications. RSC Adv 2023; 13:17710-17726. [PMID: 37333727 PMCID: PMC10273030 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra02555a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The preparation of Co3O4 nanostructures by a green method has been rapidly increasing owing to its promising aspects, such as facileness, atom economy, low cost, scale-up synthesis, environmental friendliness, and minimal use of hazardous chemicals. In this study, we report on the synthesis of Co3O4 nanostructures using the milky sap of Calotropis procera (CP) by a low-temperature aqueous chemical growth method. The milky sap of CP-mediated Co3O4 nanostructures were investigated for oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) and supercapacitor applications. The structure and shape characterizations were done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The prepared Co3O4 nanostructures showed a heterogeneous morphology consisting of nanoparticles and large micro clusters. A typical cubic phase and a spinel structure of Co3O4 nanostructures were also observed. The OER result was obtained at a low overpotential of 250 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a low Tafel slope of 53 mV dec-1. In addition, the durability of 45 hours was also found at 20 mA cm-2. The newly prepared Co3O4 nanostructures using the milky sap of CP were also used to demonstrate a high specific capacitance of 700 F g-1 at a current density of 0.8 A g-1 and a power density of 30 W h kg-1. The enhanced electrochemical performance of Co3O4 nanostructures prepared using the milky sap of CP could be attributed to the surface oxygen vacancies, a relatively high amount of Co2+, the reduction in the optical band gap and the fast charge transfer rate. These surface, structural, and optical properties were induced by reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents from the milky sap of CP. The obtained results of OERs and supercapacitor applications strongly recommend the use of the milky sap of CP for the synthesis of diverse efficient nanostructured materials in a specific application, particularly in energy conversion and storage devices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aneela Tahira
- Institute of Chemistry, Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur Mirs Sindh Pakistan
| | - Shusheel Kumar
- Institute of Physics, University of Sindh Jamshoro 76080 Sindh Pakistan
| | | | - Muhammad Ali Bhatti
- Centre for Environmental Sciences, University of Sindh Jamshoro 76080 Sindh Pakistan
| | - Sooraj Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology 7680 Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan
| | - Umair Aftab
- Department of Metallurgy and Materials, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology 7680 Jamshoro Sindh Pakistan
| | - Amal Karsy
- Nanotechnology Research Centre (NTRC), The British University in Egypt (BUE) Cairo Egypt
| | - Ayman Nafady
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University Riyadh 11451 Saudi Arabia
| | - Antonia Infantes-Molina
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Crystallography and Mineralogy, Unidad Asociada al ICP-CSIC, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos 29071 Malaga Spain
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2
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Boron: A key functional component for designing high-performance heterogeneous catalysts. CHINESE CHEM LETT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2022.02.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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3
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Iron Phosphide Precatalyst for Electrocatalytic Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye and Removal of Escherichia coli from Simulated Wastewater. Catalysts 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/catal12030269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Electrocatalysis using low-cost materials is a promising, economical strategy for remediation of water contaminated with organic chemicals and microorganisms. Here, we report the use of iron phosphide (Fe2P) precatalyst for electrocatalytic water oxidation; degradation of a representative aromatic hydrocarbon, the dye rhodamine B (RhB); and inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. It was found that during anodic oxidation, the Fe2P phase was converted to iron phosphate phase (Fe2P-iron phosphate). This is the first report that Fe2P precatalyst can efficiently catalyze electrooxidation of an organic molecule and inactivate microorganisms in aqueous media. Using a thin film of Fe2P precatalyst, we achieved 98% RhB degradation efficiency and 100% E. coli inactivation under an applied bias of 2.0 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode in the presence of in situ generated reactive chlorine species. Recycling test revealed that Fe2P precatalyst exhibits excellent activity and reproducibility during degradation of RhB. High-performance liquid chromatography with UV-Vis detection further confirmed the electrocatalytic (EC) degradation of the dye. Finally, in tests using Lepidium sativum L., EC-treated RhB solutions showed significantly diminished phytotoxicity when compared to untreated RhB. These findings suggest that Fe2P-iron phosphate electrocatalyst could be an effective water remediation agent.
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4
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Wu Y, Yin J, Jiang W, Li H, Liu C, Che G. Constructing urchin-like Ni 3S 2@Ni 3B on Ni plate as a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst for water splitting reaction. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:17953-17960. [PMID: 34698752 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr04965h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Developing efficient and promising non-noble catalysts that can promote both the HER and OER in the same electrolyte is vital. Currently, these reported bifunctional catalysts show only moderate electrocatalytic water-splitting performance, which is much lower than expected. In addition, most of these promising nonprecious electrocatalysts work well only at small current densities (e.g. 10 mA cm-1), but at large current densities their stability and activity are far from satisfactory for practical applications. Herein, we have successfully constructed an urchin-like Ni3S2@Ni3B heterostructure electrocatalyst on Ni plates. The resulting material exhibits great catalytic activities for both the HER and OER, even at large current densities, reaching a current density of 1000 mA cm-l at relatively low applied overpotentials of 517 and 632 mV, respectively. The excellent catalytic performance of Ni3S2@Ni3B/NP is found to benefit from the effective integration of the unique surface structure and the interface electronic structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
| | - Junqiang Yin
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
| | - Wei Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
| | - Hongji Li
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
| | - Chunbo Liu
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
| | - Guangbo Che
- Key Laboratory of Preparation Application of Environmental Friendly Materials, Ministry of Education, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, P. R. China.
- College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Pollution Control, the Education Department of Jilin Province, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Jilin Normal University, Siping 13600, P. R. China
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5
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Recent Progresses in Engineering of Ni and Co based Phosphides for Effective Electrocatalytic Water Splitting. ChemElectroChem 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/celc.202100984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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6
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Chen Z, Jaworski A, Chen J, Budnyak TM, Szewczyk I, Rokicińska A, Dronskowski R, Hedin N, Kuśtrowski P, Slabon A. Graphitic nitrogen in carbon catalysts is important for the reduction of nitrite as revealed by naturally abundant 15N NMR spectroscopy. Dalton Trans 2021; 50:6857-6866. [PMID: 33912887 DOI: 10.1039/d1dt00658d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon is considered as a green functional material, but the structural determination of the atomic positions of nitrogen remains challenging. We recently demonstrated that directly-excited solid state 15N NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the determination of such positions in N-doped carbon at natural 15N isotope abundance. Here we report a green chemistry approach for the synthesis of N-doped carbon using cellulose as a precursor, and a study of the catalytic properties and atomic structures of the related catalyst. N-doped carbon (NH3) was obtained by the oxidation of cellulose with HNO3 followed by ammonolysis at 800 °C. It had a N content of 6.5 wt% and a surface area of 557 m2 g-1, and 15N ssNMR spectroscopy provided evidence for graphitic nitrogen besides regular pyrrolic and pyridinic nitrogen. This structural determination allowed probing the role of graphitic nitrogen in electrocatalytic reactions, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and nitrite reduction reaction. The N-doped carbon catalyst (NH3) showed higher electrocatalytic activities in the OER and HER under alkaline conditions and higher activity for nitrite reduction, as compared with a catalyst prepared by the carbonization of HNO3-treated cellulose in N2. The electrocatalytic selectivity for nitrite reduction of the N-doped carbon catalyst (NH3) was directly related to the graphitic nitrogen functions. Complementary structural analyses by means of 13C and 1H ssNMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and low-temperature N2 adsorption were performed and provided support to the findings. The results show that directly-excited 15N ssNMR spectroscopy at natural 15N abundance is generally capable of providing information on N-doped carbon materials if relaxation properties are favorable. It is expected that this approach can be applied to a wide range of solids with an intermediate concentration of N atoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Chen
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany and Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Aleksander Jaworski
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Jianhong Chen
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Tetyana M Budnyak
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Ireneusz Szewczyk
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland.
| | - Anna Rokicińska
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland.
| | - Richard Dronskowski
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany and Hoffmann Institute of Advanced Materials, Shenzhen Polytechnic, 7098 Liuxian Blvd, Shenzhen, China
| | - Niklas Hedin
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Piotr Kuśtrowski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland.
| | - Adam Slabon
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden.
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7
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Lu C, Drichel A, Chen J, Enders F, Rokicińska A, Kuśtrowski P, Dronskowski R, Boldt K, Slabon A. Sensibilization of p-NiO with ZnSe/CdS and CdS/ZnSe quantum dots for photoelectrochemical water reduction. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:869-877. [PMID: 33355569 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr06993k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Core/shell quantum dots (QDs) paired with semiconductor photocathodes for water reduction have rarely been implemented so far. We demonstrate the integration of ZnSe/CdS and CdS/ZnSe QDs with porous p-type NiO photocathodes for water reduction. The QDs demonstrate appreciable enhancement in water-reduction efficiency, as compared with the bare NiO. Despite their different structure, both QDs generate comparable photocurrent enhancement, yielding a 3.8- and 3.2-fold improvement for the ZnSe/CdS@NiO and CdS/ZnSe@NiO system, respectively. Unraveling the carrier kinetics at the interface of these hybrid photocathodes is therefore critical for the development of efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) proton reduction. In addition to examining the carrier dynamics by the Mott-Schottky technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), we performed theoretical modelling for the distribution density of the carriers with respect to electron and hole wave functions. The electrons are found to be delocalized through the whole shell and can directly actuate the PEC-related process in the ZnSe/CdS QDs. The holes as the more localized carriers in the core have to tunnel through the shell before injecting into the hole transport layer (NiO). Our results emphasize the role of interfacial effects in core/shell QDs-based multi-heterojunction photocathodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Lu
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
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8
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Onwumere J, Pia̧tek J, Budnyak T, Chen J, Budnyk S, Karim Z, Thersleff T, Kuśtrowski P, Mathew AP, Slabon A. CelluPhot: Hybrid Cellulose-Bismuth Oxybromide Membrane for Pollutant Removal. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:42891-42901. [PMID: 32840994 PMCID: PMC7586292 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c12739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The simultaneous removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater is a complex challenge and requires usually several sequential processes. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of a hybrid material that can fulfill both tasks: (i) the adsorption of metal ions due to the negative surface charge, and (ii) photocatalytic decomposition of organic compounds. The bioinorganic hybrid membrane consists of cellulose fibers to ensure mechanical stability and of Bi4O5Br2/BiOBr nanosheets. The composite is synthesized at low temperature of 115 °C directly on the cellulose membrane (CM) in order to maintain the carboxylic and hydroxyl groups on the surface that are responsible for the adsorption of metal ions. The composite can adsorb both Co(II) and Ni(II) ions and the kinetic study confirmed a good agreement of experimental data with the pseudo-second-order equation kinetic model. CM/Bi4O5Br2/BiOBr showed higher affinity to Co(II) ions than to Ni(II) ions from diluted aqueous solutions. The bioinorganic composite demonstrates a synergistic effect in the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) by exceeding the removal efficiency of single components. The fabrication of the biologic-inorganic interface was confirmed by various analytical techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM EDX) mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The presented approach for controlled formation of the bioinorganic interface between natural material (cellulose) and nanoscopic inorganic materials of tailored morphology (Bi-O-Br system) enables the significant enhancement of materials functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Onwumere
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jȩdrzej Pia̧tek
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tetyana Budnyak
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jianhong Chen
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Serhiy Budnyk
- AC2T research GmbH, Viktor-Kaplan-Str. 2/c, 2700 Wiener Neustadt, Austria
| | - Zoheb Karim
- MoRe Research Örnsköldsvik AB, Box 70, SE-89122, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
| | - Thomas Thersleff
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Piotr Kuśtrowski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Kraków, Poland
| | - Aji P. Mathew
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Adam Slabon
- Department of Materials
and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16 C, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
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9
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Thersleff T, Budnyk S, Drangai L, Slabon A. Dissecting complex nanoparticle heterostructures via multimodal data fusion with aberration-corrected STEM spectroscopy. Ultramicroscopy 2020; 219:113116. [PMID: 33032159 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2020.113116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
With nanostructured materials such as catalytic heterostructures projected to play a critical role in applications ranging from water splitting to energy harvesting, tailoring their properties to specific tasks requires an increasingly comprehensive characterization of their local chemical and electronic landscape. Although aberration-corrected electron spectroscopy currently provides sufficient spatial resolution to study this space, an approach to concurrently dissect both the electronic structure and full composition of buried metal/oxide interfaces remains a considerable challenge. In this manuscript, we outline a statistical methodology to jointly analyze simultaneously-acquired STEM EELS and EDX datasets by fusing them along their shared spatial factors. We show how this procedure can be used to derive a rich descriptive model for estimating both transition metal valency and full chemical composition from encapsulated morphologies such as core-shell nanoparticles. We demonstrate this on a heterogeneous Co-P thin film catalyst, concluding that this system is best described as a multi-shell phosphide structure with a P-doped metallic Co core.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Thersleff
- Stockholm University, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm 10691, Sweden.
| | - Serhiy Budnyk
- Austrian Centre of Competence for Tribology, AC2T research GmbH, Viktor-Kaplan-Straße 2, Wr. Neustadt, 2700, Austria
| | - Larissa Drangai
- Austrian Centre of Competence for Tribology, AC2T research GmbH, Viktor-Kaplan-Straße 2, Wr. Neustadt, 2700, Austria
| | - Adam Slabon
- Stockholm University, Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
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10
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Chen Z, Corkett AJ, de Bruin-Dickason C, Chen J, Rokicińska A, Kuśtrowski P, Dronskowski R, Slabon A. Tailoring the Surface Properties of Bi 2O 2NCN by in Situ Activation for Augmented Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation on WO 3 and CuWO 4 Heterojunction Photoanodes. Inorg Chem 2020; 59:13589-13597. [PMID: 32886498 PMCID: PMC7509841 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c01947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
Bismuth(III) oxide-carbodiimide
(Bi2O2NCN)
has been recently discovered as a novel mixed-anion semiconductor,
which is structurally related to bismuth oxides and oxysulfides. Given
the structural versatility of these layered structures, we investigated
the unexplored photochemical properties of the target compound for
photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Although Bi2O2NCN does not generate a noticeable photocurrent as a
single photoabsorber, the fabrication of heterojunctions with the
WO3 thin film electrode shows an upsurge of current density
from 0.9 to 1.1 mA cm–2 at 1.23 V vs reversible
hydrogen electrode (RHE) under 1 sun (AM 1.5G) illumination in phosphate
electrolyte (pH 7.0). Mechanistic analysis and structural analysis
using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning transmission
electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM EDX)
indicate that Bi2O2NCN transforms during operating
conditions in situ to a core–shell structure
Bi2O2NCN/BiPO4. When compared to
WO3/BiPO4, the in situ electrolyte-activated
WO3/Bi2O2NCN photoanode shows a higher
photocurrent density due to superior charge separation across the
oxide/oxide-carbodiimide interface layer. Changing the electrolyte
from phosphate to sulfate results in a lower photocurrent and shows
that the electrolyte determines the surface chemistry and mediates
the PEC activity of the metal oxide-carbodiimide. A similar trend
could be observed for CuWO4 thin film photoanodes. These
results show the potential of metal oxide-carbodiimides as relatively
novel representatives of mixed-anion compounds and shed light on the
importance of the control over the surface chemistry to enable the in situ activation. Phosphate electrolyte
activates the metal oxide−Bi2O2NCN heterojunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Chen
- Solid-State and Quantum Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Alex J Corkett
- Solid-State and Quantum Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Caspar de Bruin-Dickason
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jianhong Chen
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Rokicińska
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
| | - Piotr Kuśtrowski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
| | - Richard Dronskowski
- Solid-State and Quantum Chemistry, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany.,Hoffmann Institute of Advanced Materials, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Liuxian Boulevard 7098, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Adam Slabon
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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11
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Lu C, Ma Z, Jäger J, Budnyak TM, Dronskowski R, Rokicińska A, Kuśtrowski P, Pammer F, Slabon A. NiO/Poly(4-alkylthiazole) Hybrid Interface for Promoting Spatial Charge Separation in Photoelectrochemical Water Reduction. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:29173-29180. [PMID: 32491825 PMCID: PMC7467539 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c03975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Conjugated polymers are emerging as alternatives to inorganic semiconductors for the photoelectrochemical water splitting. Herein, semi-transparent poly(4-alkylthiazole) layers with different trialkylsilyloxymethyl (R3SiOCH2-) side chains (PTzTNB, R = n-butyl; PTzTHX, R = n-hexyl) are applied to functionalize NiO thin films to build hybrid photocathodes. The hybrid interface allows for the effective spatial separation of the photoexcited carriers. Specifically, the PTzTHX-deposited composite photocathode increases the photocurrent density 6- and 2-fold at 0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode in comparison to the pristine NiO and PTzTHX photocathodes, respectively. This is also reflected in the substantial anodic shift of onset potential under simulated Air Mass 1.5 Global illumination, owing to the prolonged lifetime, augmented density, and alleviated recombination of photogenerated electrons. Additionally, coupling the inorganic and organic components also enhances the photoabsorption and amends the stability of the photocathode-driven system. This work demonstrates the feasibility of poly(4-alkylthiazole)s as an effective alternative to known inorganic semiconductor materials. We highlight the interface alignment for polymer-based photoelectrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Lu
- Institute of Inorganic
Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Zili Ma
- Institute of Inorganic
Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Jakob Jäger
- Institute of Organic Chemistry II and Advanced Materials, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm, Germany
- Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH, Zeiss Group, Carl-Zeiss-Straße 22, D-73447 Oberkochen, Germany
| | - Tetyana M. Budnyak
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Richard Dronskowski
- Institute of Inorganic
Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, D-52056 Aachen, Germany
- Hoffmann Institute of Advanced Materials, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Liuxian Boulevard 7098, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, People’s Republic of China
| | - Anna Rokicińska
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
| | - Piotr Kuśtrowski
- Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland
| | - Frank Pammer
- Institute of Organic Chemistry II and Advanced Materials, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89081 Ulm, Germany
| | - Adam Slabon
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 16C, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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