Photocatalytic Water Oxidation by a Pyrochlore Oxide upon Irradiation with Visible Light: Rhodium Substitution Into Yttrium Titanate

A stable visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst (λ≥450 nm) for water oxidation is reported. Rhodium substitution into the pyrochlore Y₂Ti₂O₇ is demonstrated by monitoring Vegard′s law evolution of the unit‐cell parameters with changing rhodium content, to a maximum content of 3 % dopant. Substitution renders the solid solutions visible‐light active. The overall rate of oxygen evolution is comparable to WO₃ but with superior light‐harvesting and surface‐area‐normalized turnover rates, making Y₂Ti_1.94Rh_0.06O₇ an excellent candidate for use in a Z‐scheme water‐splitting system.     

Nanocomposites of Tantalum‐Based Pyrochlore and Indium Hydroxide Showing High and Stable Photocatalytic Activities for Overall Water Splitting and Carbon Dioxide Reduction

Nanocomposites of tantalum‐based pyrochlore nanoparticles and indium hydroxide were prepared by a hydrothermal process for UV‐driven photocatalytic reactions including overall water splitting, hydrogen production from photoreforming of methanol, and CO₂ reduction with water to produce CO. The best catalyst was more than 20 times more active than sodium tantalate in overall water splitting and 3 times more active than Degussa P25 TiO₂ in CO₂ reduction. Moreover, the catalyst was very stable while generating stoichiometric products of H₂ (or CO) and O₂ throughout long‐term photocatalytic reactions. After the removal of In(OH)₃, the pyrochlore nanoparticles remained highly active for H₂ production from pure water and aqueous methanol solution. Both experimental studies and density functional theory calculations suggest that the pyrochlore nanoparticles catalyzed the water reduction to produce H₂, whereas In(OH)₃ was the major active component for water oxidation to produce O₂.     

A Hydrogen-Deficient Nickel–Cobalt Double Hydroxide for Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Developing highly efficient and low-cost photocatalysts for overall water splitting has long been a pursuit for converting solar power into clean hydrogen energy. Herein, we demonstrate that a nonstoichiometric nickel–cobalt double hydroxide can achieve overall water splitting by itself upon solar light irradiation, avoiding the consumption of noble-metal co-catalysts. We employed an intensive laser to ablate a NiCo alloy target immersed in alkaline solution, and produced so-called L-NiCo nanosheets with a nonstoichiometric composition and O²⁻/Co³⁺ ions exposed on the surface. The nonstoichiometric composition broadens the band gap, while O²⁻ and Co³⁺ ions boost hydrogen and oxygen evolution, respectively. As such, the photocatalyst achieves a H₂ evolution rate of 1.7 μmol h⁻¹ under AM 1.5G sunlight irradiation and an apparent quantum yield (AQE) of 1.38 % at 380 nm.     

Sulfur-Modified Oxygen Vacancies in Iron–Cobalt Oxide Nanosheets: Enabling Extremely High Activity of the Oxygen Evolution Reaction to Achieve the Industrial Water Splitting Benchmark

The oxygen vacancies of defective iron–cobalt oxide (FeCoO_x-Vo) nanosheets are modified by the homogeneously distributed sulfur (S) atoms. S atoms can not only effectively stabilize oxygen vacancies (Vo), but also form the Co−S coordination with Co active site in the Vo, which can modulate the electronic structure of the active site, enabling FeCoO_x-Vo-S to exhibit much superior OER activity. FeCoO_x-Vo-S exhibits a mass activity of 2440.0 A g⁻¹ at 1.5 V vs. RHE in 1.0 m KOH, 25.4 times higher than that of RuO₂. The Tafel slope is as low as 21.0 mV dec⁻¹, indicative of its excellent charge transfer rate. When FeCoO_x-Vo-S (anode catalyst) is paired with the defective CoP₃/Ni₂P (cathode catalyst) for overall water splitting, current densities of as high as 249.0 mA cm⁻² and 406.0 mA cm⁻² at a cell voltage of 2.0 V and 2.3 V, respectively, can be achieved.     

RuO2修饰纳米多孔Ni-Mo复合电极及其电催化析氢性能

采用脱合金化结合胶体聚沉的方法制备了纳米多孔Ni/RuO_2、Ni-Mo/RuO_2复合电极材料。通过X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、扫描电镜(SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)对电极材料的物相、元素组态、形貌结构、孔径大小和结晶度进行表征,并通过线性扫描伏安、交流阻抗以及循环伏安等方法测试多孔电极的电催化析氢性能。分析结果显示:RuO_2由于聚沉作用包覆在Ni基合金的骨架表面。Mo的加入使Ni-Mo合金非晶化的同时,促使其骨架细化,形成双连续的纳米多孔结构。Mo与RuO_2的加入以及Mo含量的增加均提高了电催化析氢性能。纳米多孔Ni_(2.5)Mo_(2.5)/RuO_2复合电极在50 mA·cm~(-2)的电流密度下析氢过电位为182 mV。     

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation from CdTe Photoanodes Annealed with CdCl2

Most CdTe photoanodes and photocathodes show positive and negative photocurrent onset potentials for water oxidation and reduction, respectively, and are thus unable to drive photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting without external applied biases. Herein, the activity of a CdTe photoanode having an internal p‐n junction during PEC water oxidation was enhanced by applying a CdCl₂ annealing treatment together with surface modifications. The resulting CdTe photoanode generated photocurrents of 1.8 and 5.4 mA cm^?2 at 0.6 and 1.2 V_RHE, respectively, with a photoanodic current onset potential of 0.22 V_RHE under simulated sunlight (AM 1.5G). The CdCl₂ annealing increased the grain sizes and lowered the density of grain boundaries, allowing more efficient charge separation. Consequently, a two‐electrode tandem PEC cell comprising a CdTe‐based photoanode and photocathode split water without any external bias at a solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.51 % at the beginning of the reaction.     

Enriched Surface Oxygen Vacancies of Photoanodes by Photoetching with Enhanced Charge Separation

A facile photoetching approach is described that alleviates the negative effects from bulk defects by confining the oxygen vacancy (O_vac) at the surface of BiVO₄ photoanode, by 10‐minute photoetching. This strategy could induce enriched O_vac at the surface of BiVO₄, which avoids the formation of excessive bulk defects. A mechanism is proposed to explain the enhanced charge separation at the BiVO₄ /electrolyte interface, which is supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The optimized BiVO₄ with enriched surface O_vac presents the highest photocurrent among undoped BiVO₄ photoanodes. Upon loading FeOOH/NiOOH cocatalysts, photoetched BiVO₄ photoanode reaches a considerable water oxidation photocurrent of 3.0 mA cm^?2 at 0.6 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. An unbiased solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency of 3.5 % is realized by this BiVO₄ photoanode and a Si photocathode under 1 sun illumination.     

Atomic Layer Deposition of Cobalt Phosphide for Efficient Water Splitting

Transition‐metal phosphides (TMP) prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are reported for the first time. Ultrathin Co‐P films were deposited by using PH₃ plasma as the phosphorus source and an extra H₂ plasma step to remove excess P in the growing films. The optimized ALD process proceeded by self‐limited layer‐by‐layer growth, and the deposited Co‐P films were highly pure and smooth. The Co‐P films deposited via ALD exhibited better electrochemical and photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities than similar Co‐P films prepared by the traditional post‐phosphorization method. Moreover, the deposition of ultrathin Co‐P films on periodic trenches was demonstrated, which highlights the broad and promising potential application of this ALD process for a conformal coating of TMP films on complex three‐dimensional (3D) architectures.     

Tailoring a Zinc Oxide Nanorod Surface by Adding an Earth-Abundant Cocatalyst for Induced Sunlight Water Oxidation

Herein, a detailed investigation of the surface modification of a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod electrode with FeOOH nanoparticles dispersed in glycine was conducted to improve the water oxidation reaction assisted by sunlight. The results were systematically analysed in terms of the general parameters (light absorption, charge separation, and surface for catalysis) that govern the photocurrent density response of metal oxide as photoanode in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell. ZnO electrodes surface were modified with different concentration of FeOOH nanoparticles using the spin-coating deposition method, and it was found that 6-layer deposition of glycine-FeOOH nanoparticles is the optimum condition. The glycine plays an important role decreasing the agglomeration of FeOOH nanoparticles over the ZnO electrode surface and increasing the overall performance. Comparing bare ZnO electrodes with the ones modified with glycine-FeOOH nanoparticles an enhanced photocurrent density can be observed from 0.27 to 0.57 mA/cm² at 1.23 V_RHE under sunlight irradiation. The impedance spectroscopy data aid us to conclude that the higher photocurrent density is an effect associated with more efficient surface for chemical reaction instead of electronic improvement. Nevertheless, the charge separation efficiency remains low for this system. The present discovery shows that the combination of glycine-FeOOH nanoparticle is suitable and environmentally-friend cocatalyst to enhance the ZnO nanorod electrode activity for the oxygen evolution reaction assisted by sunlight irradiation.