Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ameer Abdullah, Aadil Waseem, Indrajit V. Bagal, Muhammad Ali Johar, Mandar A. Kulkarni, June Key Lee, Sang-Wan Ryu
Summary: The efficient fabrication of photoanodes provides a new approach to improve the PEC water splitting efficiency. Deposition of Au nanoparticles on GaN nanowires surface is an effective method to enhance performance.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hongdong Li, Hongyan Liu, Fei Wang, Guodong Li, Xiaoli Wang, Zhiyong Tang
Summary: This work demonstrates a facile synthesis of Au-modified ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanorods array as a photoelectrode for PEC water splitting, achieving high catalytic efficiency. Electric-field simulation and transient absorption spectroscopy reveal that the Au-decorated core-shell nanostructures have enhanced hot electron generation and inhibition of carrier recombination.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kyoungjae Song, Hyunhwa Lee, Moonsang Lee, Jeong Young Park
Summary: Research indicates that the size of metallic nanostructures is crucial for the injection of plasmonic hot holes, with smaller Au nanoprisms showing higher quantum efficiencies and significant enhancement of photoelectrocatalytic reactions.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Nuray Celebi, Mustafa Yasir Aydin, Furkan Soysal, Yasemin O. Ciftci, Kouroush Salimi
Summary: A cost-effective synthesis route was designed to fabricate ligand-free Au/TiO2 Schottky contacts, providing ideal plasmon-sensitive heterostructures for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting and organic dye photodegradation. Superior PEC performance and enhanced photocatalytic activity were achieved with low amount of Au loading and low light intensity.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Haonian Zheng, Chaopeng Zhao, Shaochen Hu, Qian Gao, Duo Liu
Summary: Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising method for generating eco-friendly hydrogen energy from water. However, current methods face limitations in designing efficient photoelectrodes. In this study, a novel porous gallium nitride (PGaN) photoanode decorated with plasmonic Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) was fabricated, resulting in a significant improvement in water-splitting efficiency. The synergistic combination of the porous structure and plasmonic AuNPs enhances the generation, separation, and transport of electron-hole pairs, leading to improved performance. This work provides a potential solution for future exploration of durable and efficient GaN-based photoelectrodes.
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI A-APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Huiqin An, Caixia Li, Zhaotao Lv, Yidan Wang, Haohua Zhang, Lizhi Zhao, Ran Cheng, Songbo Wang, Qingjun Zhu, Zhen Yin, Ding Ma
Summary: Interface engineering in hybrid plasmonic metal/semiconductor heterostructures is an efficient approach to enhance the catalytic performance of photocatalysts and photoelectrochemical cells in harvesting and converting sunlight. The injection and utilization of hot electrons are achieved by fabricating a Au@ZnIn2S4/Ti3C2 system with well-defined interfaces. The core-shell Au@ZIS nanoparticles anchored on the 2D Ti3C2 surface optimize the electron transfer pathway and greatly promote the extraction of hot electrons. Furthermore, the efficient separation and transfer of electrons through a two-step transfer process result in a drastic improvement in the activities of photoelectrochemical seawater splitting, demonstrating the potential of this system for enhancing PEC performance.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ai Qin, Li Fu, Yimin Lin, Wanqing Fang
Summary: Surface modification and interface engineering are efficient strategies to enhance the efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting. By depositing CoOx decorated hematite nanosheets and incorporating Au nanoparticles, the photocurrent density of Fe2O3 semiconductors has been significantly increased. The co-modification of CoOx and Au has been shown to reduce charge transfer resistance, improving charge separation and injection efficiency.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Huimin Geng, Pengzhan Ying, Yulong Zhao, Xiuquan Gu
Summary: By dual modification with Au nanoparticles and FeOOH nanoneedles on BiVO4 surface, the FeOOH/Au/BiVO4 photoanode exhibited significantly enhanced performance, with a 3.74 times increase in photocurrent density and a significant increase in H-2 yield. The improved performance can be attributed to the localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Au NPs and surface modification of FeOOH.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cheon Woo Moon, Min-Ju Choi, Jerome Kartham Hyun, Ho Won Jang
Summary: The water-based renewable chemical energy cycle utilizes semi-infinite solar energy to produce hydrogen and oxygen. Efficient photoelectrodes with engineered nanostructures enhance light-matter interactions for effective photoelectrochemical water splitting. Plasmonic gold nanoparticles show promising potential for enhancing this process, but a complete understanding of their physical phenomena is still lacking.
NANOSCALE ADVANCES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Junhao Cai, Jianrui Cao, Heng Tao, Ruoping Li, Mingju Huang
Summary: A novel 3D core-shell nanostructure decorated with plasmonic Au nanoparticles was prepared for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting, achieving a photoconversion efficiency and photocurrent density 4.80 and 4.33 times higher than ZnO nanosheets, respectively.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ying-Chu Chen, Hsuan-Yu Yeh, Radian Popescu, Dagmar Gerthsen, Yu-Kuei Hsu
Summary: This study presents an alternative approach of growing Cu2O nanowires on Cu foil using a simple wet chemistry method combined with post-thermal treatment to address the issue of copper vacancies. The depletion of copper vacancies results in a space charge layer that efficiently separates the photoexcited charge carriers. The use of ZnO, TiO2, and Pt co-catalyst further enhances charge separation and facilitates electron injection into the electrolyte. This cost-effective and scalable method demonstrates significantly improved photocurrent density compared to the conventional electrodeposition technique.
JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Oren Elishav, David Stone, Anton Tsyganok, Swetha Jayanthi, David S. Ellis, Tamir Yeshurun, Itzhak I. Maor, Adar Levi, Vadim Beilin, Gennady E. Shter, Roie Yerushalmi, Avner Rothschild, Uri Banin, Gideon S. Grader
Summary: This study addresses the effect of particle size on charge transfer in hematite for photoelectrochemical water splitting. The researchers embedded hematite nanoparticles into an electrode substrate to improve contact and enhance performance. The use of nanofibers as a scaffold for the nanoparticles increased the optical density and improved the photocurrent density and photon-to-current internal conversion efficiency by factors of 2 and 10, respectively.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lixin Chen, Xiaorui Yu, Zhe Hua, Qing Liu, Vladimir An, Lizhi Feng, Jiaming Guo, Xinglai Zhang, Jing Li, Baodan Liu
Summary: In this study, a cobalt phosphate-modified (GaN)1-x(ZnO)x/GaN nanowire array was prepared on a high-temperature conductive GaN substrate using a facile two-step Au-assisted chemical vapor deposition method, which effectively enhanced the photoelectrochemical water splitting. The multi-junction heterostructures improved wide spectral utilization and light absorption, accelerated the separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons, and showed promising potential in clean hydrogen production with a high photocurrent density.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Guangyuan Yan, Yutao Dong, Tong Wu, Shuming Xing, Xudong Wang
Summary: By coupling optically transparent, mesoporous ultrathin In2O3 nanosheets on the top of Si nanowire arrays and introducing a TiO2 thin film as an intermediate protective layer, the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance has been significantly improved.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Min-Kyu Son, Linfeng Pan, Matthew T. Mayer, Anders Hagfeldt, Michael Gratzel, Jingshan Luo
Summary: Cuprous oxide is a promising photocathode material for PEC water splitting, but suffers from poor stability in strong acidic or alkaline conditions. Improvements in performance have been made by introducing nanostructures and catalysts, but further research is needed to establish suitable protection strategies for durable PEC water splitting.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)