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Bhattacharjee S, Linley S, Reisner E. Solar reforming as an emerging technology for circular chemical industries. Nat Rev Chem 2024:10.1038/s41570-023-00567-x. [PMID: 38291132 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-023-00567-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The adverse environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and persistent waste accumulation are driving the demand for sustainable approaches to clean-energy production and waste recycling. By coupling the thermodynamically favourable oxidation of waste-derived organic carbon streams with fuel-forming reduction reactions suitable for producing clean hydrogen or converting CO2 to fuels, solar reforming simultaneously valorizes waste and generates useful chemical products. With appropriate light harvesting, catalyst design, device configurations and waste pre-treatment strategies, a range of sustainable fuels and value-added chemicals can already be selectively produced from diverse waste feedstocks, including biomass and plastics, demonstrating the potential of solar-powered upcycling plants. This Review highlights solar reforming as an emerging technology that is currently transitioning from fundamental research towards practical application. We investigate the chemistry and compatibility of waste pre-treatment, introduce process classifications, explore the mechanisms of different solar reforming technologies, and suggest appropriate concepts, metrics and pathways for various deployment scenarios in a net-zero-carbon future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stuart Linley
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Erwin Reisner
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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2
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Xi Z, Zhou C, Kisslinger K, Nanayakkara T, Lu F, Tong X, Liu M. Cobalt Oxide-Coated Single Crystalline Bismuth Vanadate Photoanodes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Chlorine Generation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:49281-49288. [PMID: 37792952 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c11592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is an outstanding photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting. In this work, a series of single crystalline BiVO4 photoanodes are synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Once coated with a thin layer of cobalt oxide (CoOx) cocatalyst, also by PLD, the photoanodes support efficient photoelectrochemical generation of chlorine (Cl2) from brine under simulated solar light. The activity of the chlorine generation reaction (ClER) is optimized when the thickness of CoOx is about 3 nm, with the faradic efficiency of ClER exceeding 60%. Detailed studies show that the CoOx cocatalyst layer is amorphous, uniform in thickness, and chemically robust. As such, the cocatalyst also effectively protects the underlying BiVO4 photoanodes against chlorine corrosion. This work provides insights into using artificial photosynthesis for byproducts that carry significant economic value while avoiding the energetically expensive oxygen evolution reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoyi Xi
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Chenyu Zhou
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Kim Kisslinger
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Tharanga Nanayakkara
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Fang Lu
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Xiao Tong
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
| | - Mingzhao Liu
- Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States
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3
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Ni H, Fang Y, Hu Y, Xiao G, Wu X, Jiang F. Investigation of the Solar Hydrogen Sensitivity of GeSe Thin Film Photoelectrode with Photoelectrochemical Environment. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:46861-46871. [PMID: 37769166 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c09146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
GeSe photovoltaic thin films are very promising for photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen evolution. The GeSe-based PEC water splitting device is a system containing a photoelectrode, electrolyte, and other packages, and the performance of the GeSe photoelectrode inside the system is very sensitive to the PEC system environment, such as the electrolyte temperature, pH, and concentration. Here, we reveal how the electrolyte environment at the electrolyte/photoelectrode interface influences the optoelectronic/PEC properties of GeSe photoelectrodes. It was found that the photocurrent density of the GeSe photoelectrode increased with temperature between 10 and 50 °C but decreased when the temperature was over 50 °C. In addition, the pH values of the electrolyte were inversely proportional to the photocurrent density of the GeSe photoelectrode. Moreover, the PEC performance improved as the sodium ion concentration of the electrolyte increased. The results in this work should provide a new direction for further optimizing the performance of photoelectrodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huanyang Ni
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Yusu Fang
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Yucheng Hu
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Guohong Xiao
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Xiaomin Wu
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Feng Jiang
- Institute of Hydrogen Energy for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralization, School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
- Institute of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, 55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510631, China
- Chengfeng Light Energy Science and Technology (Guangzhou) Limited Company, Huangpu District, Guangzhou 510700, China
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Yang H, Liu Y, Ding Y, Li F, Wang L, Cai B, Zhang F, Liu T, Boschloo G, Johansson EMJ, Sun L. Monolithic FAPbBr 3 photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation with low onset-potential and enhanced stability. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5486. [PMID: 37679329 PMCID: PMC10484934 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41187-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite considerable research efforts on photoelectrochemical water splitting over the past decades, practical application faces challenges by the absence of efficient, stable, and scalable photoelectrodes. Herein, we report a metal-halide perovskite-based photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. With a planar structure using mesoporous carbon as a hole-conducting layer, the precious metal-free FAPbBr3 photovoltaic device achieves 9.2% solar-to-electrical power conversion efficiency and 1.4 V open-circuit voltage. The photovoltaic architecture successfully applies to build a monolithic photoanode with the FAPbBr3 absorber, carbon/graphite conductive protection layers, and NiFe catalyst layers for water oxidation. The photoanode delivers ultralow onset potential below 0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode and high applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 8.5%. Stable operation exceeding 100 h under solar illumination by applying ultraviolet-filter protection. The photothermal investigation verifies the performance boost in perovskite photoanode by photothermal effect. This study is significant in guiding the development of photovoltaic material-based photoelectrodes for solar fuel applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yang
- Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Yawen Liu
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75120, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yunxuan Ding
- Center of Artificial Photosynthesis for Solar Fuels and Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Westlake University, 310024, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fusheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Centre on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian, China
| | - Linqin Wang
- Center of Artificial Photosynthesis for Solar Fuels and Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Westlake University, 310024, Hangzhou, China
| | - Bin Cai
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75120, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fuguo Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tianqi Liu
- Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Gerrit Boschloo
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75120, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Erik M J Johansson
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75120, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Licheng Sun
- Department of Chemistry, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Center of Artificial Photosynthesis for Solar Fuels and Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Westlake University, 310024, Hangzhou, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Institute of Artificial Photosynthesis, DUT-KTH Joint Education and Research Centre on Molecular Devices, Dalian University of Technology, 116024, Dalian, China.
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Kim H, Seo JW, Chung W, Narejo GM, Koo SW, Han JS, Yang J, Kim JY, In SI. Thermal Effect on Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Toward Highly Solar to Hydrogen Efficiency. CHEMSUSCHEM 2023; 16:e202202017. [PMID: 36840941 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202202017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production is an emerging technology that uses renewable solar light aimed to establish a sustainable carbon-neutral society. The barriers to commercialization are low efficiency and high cost. To date, researchers have focused on materials and systems. However, recent studies have been conducted to utilize thermal effects in PEC hydrogen production. This Review provides a fresh perspective to utilize the thermal effects for PEC performance enhancement while delineating the underlying principles and equations associated with efficiency. The fundamentals of the thermal effect on the PEC system are summarized from various perspectives: kinetics, thermodynamics, and empirical equations. Based on this, materials are classified as plasmonic metals, quantum dot-based semiconductors, and photothermal organic materials, which have an inherent response to photothermal irradiation. Finally, the economic viability and challenges of these strategies for PEC are explained, which can pave the way for the future progress in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hwapyong Kim
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Joo Won Seo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Dankook University (DKU), Yongin-si, 16890 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Wookjin Chung
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Ghulam Mustafa Narejo
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Sung Wook Koo
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Ji Su Han
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Jiwoong Yang
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Jae-Yup Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Dankook University (DKU), Yongin-si, 16890 (Republic of, Korea
| | - Su-Il In
- Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), 333 Techno Jungang-daero, Hyeonpung-eup, Dalseong-gun, Daegu, 42988 (Republic of, Korea
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Xie J, Wang S, Lu T, Yang S, Zou L, Ren J, Lu X, Huang J, Huang C, Yang P. Evaluating high temperature photoelectrocatalysis of TiO 2 model photoanode. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 645:765-774. [PMID: 37172486 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Sunlight concentration has been demonstrated as one promising strategy for practically photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting with exceeding 10% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. However, the operating temperature of PEC devices, including the electrolyte and photoelectrodes, can be elevated to 65 ℃ naturally due to the concentrated sunlight and the thermal effect of near-infrared light. In this work, high temperature photoelectrocatalysis is evaluated using titanium dioxide (TiO2) photoanode as a model system, which is believed to be one of the most stable semiconductors. During the studied temperature range of 25-65 ℃, a linear increment of photocurrent density with a positive coefficient of 5.02 μA cm-2 K-1 can be observed. The onset potential for water electrolysis shows a significant negative shift by 200 mV. An amorphous titanium hydroxide layer and a number of oxygen vacancies generate on the surface of TiO2 nanorods, promoting the water oxidation kinetics. During long-term stability testing, the NaOH electrolyte degradation and TiO2 photocorrosion at high temperatures could cause the decaying photocurrent. This work evaluates the high temperature photoelectrocatalysis of TiO2 photoanode and reveals the mechanism of temperature effects on TiO2 model photoanode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiale Xie
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China.
| | - Shuxiang Wang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianmou Lu
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Sen Yang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Li Zou
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Ren
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Xingyu Lu
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Huang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Huang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
| | - Pingping Yang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, People's Republic of China
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Wu J, Xu X, Guo X, Xie W, Pan L, Chen Y. Polypyrrole modification on BiVO 4 for photothermal-assisted photoelectrochemical water oxidation. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:091102. [PMID: 36889982 DOI: 10.1063/5.0130217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoanode receives extensive attention in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the high charge recombination rate, low electronic conductivity, and sluggish electrode kinetics have inhibited the PEC performance. Increasing the reaction temperature for water oxidation is an effective way to enhance the carrier kinetics of BiVO4. Herein, a polypyrrole (PPy) layer was coated on the BiVO4 film. The PPy layer could harvest the near-infrared light to elevate the temperature of the BiVO4 photoelectrode and further improve charge separation and injection efficiencies. In addition, the conductive polymer PPy layer acted as an effective charge transfer channel to facilitate photogenerated holes moving from BiVO4 to the electrode/electrolyte interface. Therefore, PPy modification led to a significantly improved water oxidation property. After loading the cobalt-phosphate co-catalyst, the photocurrent density reached 3.64 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode, corresponding to an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 63% at 430 nm. This work provided an effective strategy for designing a photothermal material assisted photoelectrode for efficient water splitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiazhe Wu
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoya Xu
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Guo
- Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education, Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Devices, Shaanxi Engineering Lab for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, People's Republic of China
| | - Wensheng Xie
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Lixia Pan
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Yubin Chen
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710049, People's Republic of China
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Liu Y, Chen L, Zhu X, Qiu H, Wang K, Li W, Cao S, Zhang T, Cai Y, Wu Q, Li J. Effects of operating temperature on photoelectrochemical performance of CuWO4 film photoanode. J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2022.116859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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Chen Y, Cheng Y, Zhao J, Zhang W, Gao J, Miao H, Hu X. Construction of Sb 2S 3/CdS/CdIn 2S 4 cascaded S-scheme heterojunction for improving photoelectrochemical performance. J Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 627:1047-1060. [PMID: 35908309 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) is a relatively abundant and environmentally friendly emerging photovoltaic material, which has been gradually applied in solar cells and photocatalysis. It has high light absorption capacity, but it suffers many deep-level defects and is prone to recombination of electron-hole pairs within itself. Here, by constructing the Sb2S3/CdIn2S4 S-scheme heterojunction, we avoided the problem that electrons and holes cannot be separated and transported effectively due to many Sb2S3 defects (more recombination centers), and improved its application in the field of photoelectrochemical water splitting. Meanwhile, in order to further improve the performance of Sb2S3/CdIn2S4 photoelectrode, we introduced CdS energy platform between Sb2S3 and CdIn2S4 to form a Sb2S3/CdS/CdIn2S4 cascaded S-scheme heterojunction. Compared with Sb2S3 monomer, Sb2S3/CdS/CdIn2S4 had higher absorbance intensity, IPCE value, ABPE value, and lower charge transfer resistance. In addition, the photocurrent density of the Sb2S3/CdS/CdIn2S4 photoelectrode was about 4.20 mA/cm2 (1.23 V vs. RHE), which was 1.3 times higher than that of the Sb2S3/CdIn2S4 photoelectrode (3.29 mA/cm2) and 3.2 times higher than that of monomer Sb2S3 photoelectrode (1.32 mA/cm2). This method offers new prospects for optimizing the performance of antimony chalcogenides photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqi Chen
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China
| | - Yufei Cheng
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China
| | - Junfeng Zhao
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China
| | - Wenwan Zhang
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China
| | - Jianhua Gao
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China
| | - Hui Miao
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China.
| | - Xiaoyun Hu
- School of Physics, Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710127, PR China.
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Advances in Engineered Metal Oxide Thin Films by Low-Cost, Solution-Based Techniques for Green Hydrogen Production. NANOMATERIALS 2022; 12:nano12121957. [PMID: 35745297 PMCID: PMC9229379 DOI: 10.3390/nano12121957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Functional oxide materials have become crucial in the continuous development of various fields, including those for energy applications. In this aspect, the synthesis of nanomaterials for low-cost green hydrogen production represents a huge challenge that needs to be overcome to move toward the next generation of efficient systems and devices. This perspective presents a critical assessment of hydrothermal and polymeric precursor methods as potential approaches to designing photoelectrodes for future industrial implementation. The main conditions that can affect the photoanode's physical and chemical characteristics, such as morphology, particle size, defects chemistry, dimensionality, and crystal orientation, and how they influence the photoelectrochemical performance are highlighted in this report. Strategies to tune and engineer photoelectrode and an outlook for developing efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion using an inexpensive and stable material will also be addressed.
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