Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T08:11:05.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Distinguishing surface effects of gold nanoparticles from plasmonic effect on photoelectrochemical water splitting by hematite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2016

Jiangtian Li
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA
Scott K. Cushing
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA; and Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6315, USA
Deryn Chu
Affiliation:
Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate, US Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Maryland 20783-1197, USA
Peng Zheng
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA
Joeseph Bright
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA
Conner Castle
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA
Ayyakkannu Manivannan
Affiliation:
National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Morgantown, West Virginia 26507, USA
Nianqiang Wu*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia 26506-6106, USA
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: nick.wu@mail.wvu.edu
Get access

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles have been deposited on the surface of hematite nanorod array photoanode to improve the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance. The Au nanoparticles induce the Fermi level equilibration, the surface catalysis, and the plasmonic enhancement effects in the Au/hematite photoanode. The Fermi level equilibration effect promotes the extraction of photo-generated charge carriers, suppressing the charge recombination. Surface catalysis effect reduces the overpotential for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. In the Au/hematite sample, the Fermi level equilibration and the surface catalysis effect make major contribution to photocurrent enhancement while the plasmonic effect makes a little contribution. In addition, the Au@SiO2 particle has been immobilized on hematite nanorod array surface that has been passivated. In the Au@SiO2/hematite sample, the photocurrent enhancement originating from plasmonic effects is negligible. Both the Femi level equilibration and the surface catalysis effects were excluded due to the isolated Au and hematite while surface passivation is mainly responsible for the photocurrent enhancement.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Fujishima, A. and Honda, K.: Electrochemical photolysis of water at a semiconductor electrode. Nature 238, 37 (1972).Google Scholar
Li, J. and Wu, N.Q.: Semiconductor-based photocatalysts and photoelectrochemical cells for solar fuel generation: A review. Catal. Sci. Technol. 5, 1360 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walter, M.G., Warren, E.L., McKone, J.R., Boettcher, S.W., Mi, Q., Santori, E.A., and Lewis, N.S.: Solar water splitting cells. Chem. Rev. 110, 6446 (2010).Google Scholar
Kim, T.W. and Choi, K.: Nanoporous BiVO4 photoanodes with dual-layer oxygen evolution catalysts for solar water splitting. Science 343, 990 (2014).Google Scholar
Cushing, S.K. and Wu, N.Q.: Plasmon-enhanced solar energy harvesting. Interface 22, 63 (2013).Google Scholar
Zhang, X., Chen, Y., Liu, R., and Tsai, D.P.: Plasmonic photocatalysis. Rep. Prog. Phys. 76, 046401 (2013).Google Scholar
Linic, S., Christopher, P., and Ingram, D.B.: Plasmonic-metal nanostructures for efficient conversion of solar to chemical energy. Nat. Mater. 10, 911 (2011).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Atwater, H.A. and Polman, A.: Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices. Nat. Mater. 9, 205 (2010).Google Scholar
Cushing, S.K., Li, J.T., Meng, F., Senty, T.R., Suri, S., Zhi, M., Li, M., Bristow, A.D., and Wu, N.Q.: Photocatalytic activity enhanced by plasmonic resonant energy transfer from metal to semiconductor. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 15033 (2012).Google Scholar
Awazu, K., Fujimaki, M., Rockstuhl, C., Tominaga, J., Wurakami, H., Ohki, Y., Yoshida, N., and Watanabe, T.: A plasmonic photocatalyst consisting of silver nanoparticles embedded in titanium dioxide. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 1676 (2008).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tian, Y. and Tatsuma, T.: Mechanisms and applications of plasmon-induced charge separation at TiO2 films loaded with gold nanoparticles. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 7632 (2005).Google Scholar
Tian, Y. and Tatsuma, T.: Plasmon-induced photoelectrochemistry at metal nanoparticles supported on nanoporous TiO2 . Chem. Commun. 40, 1810 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torimoto, T., Horibe, H., Kameyama, T., Okazaki, K., Ikeda, S., Matsumura, M., Ishikawa, A., and Ishihara, H.: Plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic activity of cadmium sulfide nanoparticle immobilized on silica-coated gold particles. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2, 2057 (2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J., Cushing, S.K., Zheng, P., Meng, F., Chu, D., and Wu, N.Q.: Plasmon-induced photonic and energy-transfer enhancement of solar water splitting by a hematite nanorod array. Nat. Commun. 4, 2651 (2013).Google Scholar
Subramanian, V., Wolf, E.E., and Kamat, P.V.: Catalysis with TiO2/gold nanocomposites. Effect of metal particle size on the Fermi level equilibration. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 4943 (2004).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Choi, H., Chen, W.T., and Kamat, P.: Know Thy Nano neighbor. Plasmonic versus electron charging effects of metal nanoparticles in Dye-Sensitized solar cells. ACS Nano 6, 4418 (2012).Google Scholar
Vayssieres, L., Beermann, N., Lindquist, S.E., and Hagfeldt, A.: Controlled aqueous chemical growth of oriented three-dimensional crystalline nanorod arrays: Application to iron(III) oxides. Chem. Mater. 13, 233 (2001).Google Scholar
Li, J., Cushing, S.K., Zheng, P., Senty, T., Meng, F., Bristow, A.D., Manivannan, A., and Wu, N.Q.: Solar hydrogen generation by a CdS-Au-TiO2 sandwich nanorod array enhanced with Au nanoparticle as electron relay and plasmonic photosensitizer. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 8438 (2014).Google Scholar
Tafalla, D., Salvador, P., and Benito, R.M.: Kinetic approach to the photocurrent transients in water photoelectrolysis at n-TiO2 electrodes II. Analysis of the photocurrent-time dependence. J. Electrochem. Soc. 137, 1810 (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khan, M.R., Chuan, T., Yousuf, A., Chowdhury, M.N.K., and Cheng, C.K.: Schottky barrier and surface plasmonic resonance phenomena towards the photocatalytic reaction: Study of their mechanisms to enhance photocatalytic activity. Catal. Sci. Technol. 5, 2522 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meng, F., Cushing, S.K., Li, J.T., Hao, S.M., and Wu, N.: Enhancement of solar hydrogen generation by synergistic interaction of La2Ti2O7 photocatalyst with plasmonic gold nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. ACS Catal. 5, 1949 (2015).Google Scholar
Silvula, K., Formal, F., and Graetzel, M.: Solar water splitting: Progress using hematite (α-Fe2O3) photoelectrodes. ChemSusChem 4, 432 (2011).Google Scholar
Han, J., Zong, X., Wang, Z., and Li, C.: A hematite photoanode with gradient structure shows an unprecedentedly low onset potential for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 16, 23544 (2014).Google Scholar
Formal, F., Teetreault, N., Cornuz, M., Moehl, T., Graetzel, M., and Sivula, K.: Passivating surface states on water splitting hematite photoanodes with alumina overlayers. Chem. Sci. 2, 737 (2011).Google Scholar
Thomann, I., Pinaud, B.A., Chen, Z., Clemens, B.M., Jaramillo, T.F., and Brongerman, M.: Plasmon enhanced solar-to-fuel energy conversion. Nano Lett. 11, 3440 (2011).Google Scholar
Thimsen, E., Formal, F.L., Graetzel, M., and Warren, S.C.: Influence of plasmonic Au nanoparticles on the photoactivity of Fe2O3 electrodes for water splitting. Nano Lett. 11, 35 (2011).Google Scholar
Abdi, F.F., Dabirian, A., Dam, B., and van de Krol, R.: Plasmonic enhancement of the optical absorption and catalytic efficiency of BiVO4 photoanodes decorated with Ag@SiO2 core–shell nanoparticles. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 16, 15272 (2014).Google Scholar
Wang, X., Peng, K., Hu, Y., Zhang, F., Hu, B., Li, L., Wang, M., Meng, X., and Lee, S.: Silicon/hematite core/shell nanowire array decorated with gold nanoparticles for unbiased solar water oxidation. Nano Lett. 14, 18 (2014).Google Scholar
Sivula, K.: Metal oxide photoelectrodes for solar fuel production, surface traps, and catalysis. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 4, 1624 (2013).Google Scholar
Liu, R., Zheng, Z., Spurgeon, J., and Yang, X.: Enhanced photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance of semiconductors by surface passivation layers. Energy Environ. Sci. 7, 2504 (2014).Google Scholar
Formal, F., Graetzel, M., and Sivula, K.: Controlling photoactivity in ultrathin hematite films for solar water-splitting. Adv. Funct. Mater. 20, 1099 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Li supplementary material

Li supplementary material

Download Li supplementary material(File)
File 561.9 KB