Interfacial electron transfer at TiO2 nanostructured electrodes modified with capped gold nanoparticles: The photoelectrochemistry of water oxidation

Photoelectrocatalytic performance of a titania-keggin type polyoxometalate-gold nanocomposite modified electrode in methanol oxidation

Aminosilicate sol-gel supported titania-keggin type polyoxometalate-gold nanocomposite materials (APS/(P25-PTA-Au)NCM) (APS, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane; P25, Degussa-TiO2; PTA, Na3PW12O40·xH2O) were prepared by a simple chemical reduction method and characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. The as-prepared APS/(P25-PTA-Au)NCM was used to fabricate the photoelectrode for a photoelectrochemical cell. The photoelectrocatalytic activity of the APS/(P25-PTA-Au)NCM modified photoelectrode in methanol oxidation was investigated. The APS/(P25-PTA-Au)NCM modified photoelectrode showed a higher photocurrent for methanol oxidation than control photoelectrodes. The modification of titania using PTA and Au nanoparticles significantly boosted the photoelectrocatalytic performance by a synergistic effect and thus improved the interfacial charge transfer processes. The presence of Au nanoparticles enhances the interfacial electron transfer process. The APS silicate sol-gel matrix acts as a very good support material for the preparation of the nanocomposite material and for preparation of the chemically modified electrode. This newly fabricated APS/(P25-PTA-Au)NCM modified photoelectrode could be a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical cells.

The electrochemistry of nanostructured titanium dioxide electrodes

Several of the multiple applications of titanium dioxide nanomaterials are directly related to the introduction or generation of charge carriers in the oxide. Thus, electrochemistry plays a central role in the understanding of the factors that must be controlled for the optimization of the material for each application. Herein, the main conceptual tools needed to address the study of the electrochemical properties of TiO(2) nanostructured electrodes are reviewed, as well as the electrochemical methods to prepare and modify them. Particular attention is paid to the dark electrochemical response of these nanomaterials and its direct connection with the TiO(2) electronic structure, interfacial area and grain boundary density. The physical bases for the generation of currents under illumination are also presented. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the kinetics of charge-carrier transfer to solution determines the sign and value of the photocurrent. Furthermore, methods for extracting kinetic information from open-circuit potential and photocurrent measurements are briefly presented. Some aspects of the combination of electrochemical and spectroscopic measurements are also dealt with. Finally, some of the applications of TiO(2) nanostructured samples derived from their electrochemical properties are concisely reviewed. Particular attention is paid to photocatalytic processes and, to a lesser extent, to photosynthetic reactions as well as to applications related to energy from the aspects of both saving (electrochromic layers) and accumulation (batteries). The use of TiO(2) nanomaterials in solar cells is not covered, as a number of reviews have been published addressing this issue.

Functionalized silicate sol-gel-supported TiO2-Au core-shell nanomaterials and their photoelectrocatalytic activity

The N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine (EDAS) derived silicate matrix supported core-shell TiO(2)-Au nanoparticles (EDAS/(TiO(2)-Au)(nps)) were prepared by NaBH(4) reduction of HAuCl(4) precursor on preformed TiO(2) nanoparticles in the presence of EDAS monomer. The core-shell (TiO(2)-Au)(nps) nanoparticles were stabilized by the amine functional group of the EDAS silicate sol-gel network. The potential application of this EDAS/(TiO(2)-Au)(nps) modified electrode toward the photoelectrochemical oxidation of methanol was explored. The EDAS/(TiO(2)-Au)(nps) modified electrode showed a 12-fold enhancement in the catalytic activity toward photoelectrooxidation of methanol when compared to TiO(2) dispersed in EDAS silicate sol-gel matrix. This improved photoelectrochemical performance is explained on the basis of beneficial promotion of interfacial charge transfer processes of the EDAS/(TiO(2)-Au)(nps) nanocomposite. A methanol oxidation peak current density of 12.3 mA cm(-2) was achieved at an optimum loading of Au(nps) on TiO(2) particles. This novel amine functionalized EDAS silicate sol-gel stabilized core-shell (TiO(2)-Au)(nps) nanomaterial could be an excellent candidate for the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical applications.

Photoelectrolysis of water: Solar hydrogen--achievements and perspectives

Thermodynamic analysis of energy conversion from light-to-chemical, light-to-electric and electric-to-chemical is presented by the case study of water photoelectrolysis on TiO(2) surface. It is demonstrated that at the current state-of-the-art energy conversion efficiency of water photoelectrolysis can be increased approximately 17 times by separating the processes of solar-to-electric and electric-to-chemical energy conversion and optimizing them independently. This allows to mitigate a high overvoltage of oxygen evolution reaction with respect to thermodynamic E(0)(O(2)/H(2)O) = 1.23 V potential as well as spectrally narrow absorbtivity of solar light by TiO(2) which determine the low efficiency (approximately 1.0%) of direct light-to-chemical energy conversion. Numerical estimates are provided illustrating practical principles for optimization of the solar energy conversion and storage processes.

Modification of the morphology of P(S-b-EO) templated thin TiO2 films by swelling with PS homopolymer

For the controlled modification of sol-gel-templated polymer nanocomposites, which are transferred to a nanostructured, crystalline TiO2 phase by a calcination process, the addition of a single homopolymer was investigated. For the preparation, the homopolymer polystyrene (PS) is added in different amounts to the diblock copolymer P(S-b-EO) acting as a templating agent. The homopolymer/diblock copolymer blend system is combined with sol-gel chemistry to provide and attach the TiO2 nanoparticles to the diblock copolymer. So-called good-poor solvent-pair-induced phase separation leads to the formation of nanostructures by film preparation via spin coating. The fabricated morphologies are studied as a function of added homopolymer before and after calcination with atomic force microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. The observed behavior is discussed in the framework of controlling the block copolymer morphologies by the addition of homopolymers. At small homopolymer concentrations, the increase in homopolymer concentration changes the structure size, whereas at high homopolymer concentrations, a change in morphology is triggered. Thus, the behavior of a pure polymer system is transferred to a more complex hybrid system.

Photosensitization and the Photocurrent Switching Effect in Nanocrystalline Titanium Dioxide Functionalized with Iron(II) Complexes: A Comparative Study

Selected iron(II) complexes (ferrocene, ferrocenylboronic acid, hexacyanoferrate(II)) have been used as photosensitizers of titanium dioxide. Various types of electronic interactions between the surface complex and the semiconducting support are reflected in different yields of photocurrent generated upon visible-light irradiation and different efficiencies of the photosensitization effect. The studied systems, showing the photocurrent switching upon changes of electrode potential and energy of photons (the PEPS effect), are good models of simple photoelectrochemical logic devices. The mechanism of photosensitization and photocurrent switching is discussed with respect to the type of surface-complex-support interaction. Quantum-mechanical calculations support the proposed mechanisms.