Synthesis of semimetallic tungsten trioxide for infrared light photoelectrocatalytic water splitting
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-8-2019
Department
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Abstract
Excellent infrared light (IR) response and high conductivity of electrode catalysts are critical for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting. Herein, a series of IR-responsible and conductive semimetallic tungsten oxide films were prepared by a facile hydrogen heating method. The best film electrode exhibited a remarkable current density of 0.21 mA/cm2 under IR light and dark current density of 0.14 mA/cm2 at 1.2 V vs Ag/AgCl. The excellent performance can be attributed to the oxygen vacancies, which was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that bulk oxygen vacancies play an important role in narrowing band structure and thus enhance conductivity and IR response. This finding provides a novel strategy to develop efficient photoelectrocatalysts.
Publication Title
Journal of Physical Chemistry C
Recommended Citation
Ma, Y.,
Feng, B.,
Lang, J.,
Wang, F.,
&
Hu, Y. H.
(2019).
Synthesis of semimetallic tungsten trioxide for infrared light photoelectrocatalytic water splitting.
Journal of Physical Chemistry C,
123(42), 25833-25843.
http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b06993
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/1217