Activation effect of nickel phosphate co-catalysts on the photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance of TiO2 nanotubes

Journal of Saudi Chemical Society

Haneen A. AlOraij¹  Jagannathan Madhavan¹  Maged N. Shaddad²  Mabrook S. Amer³  Mahmoud Hezam³  Prabhakarn Arunachalam³ 

[1] Corresponding authors at: Electrochemical Sciences Research Chair (ESRC), Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia (M.S. Amer).;K.A.CARE Energy Research and Innovation Center at Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Electrochemical Sciences Research Chair (ESRC), Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: TiO2 nanotube arrays;    Photoelectrochemical water oxidation;    Nickel phosphate (NiPi);    Co-catalyst;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

We present exemplary fabrications of controlled Nickel phosphate (NiPi)/TiO2 nanotubes arrays (TNTs) in phosphate buffer for boosted photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The TNTs/NiPi composite electrodes revealed a considerably enhanced photocurrent density of 0.76 mA/cm2, up to 3-time enhancements than bare TNTs, mostly because of the enhanced charge separation, decreased carrier recombination, and improving kinetics of the water oxidation. Also, we demonstrated that the NiPi can assist the PEC features of TNTs over a varied region of pH values from 1 to 14. Incorporation of NiPi over the TNTs surface advances the light absorption features of the electrode, resulting in an enhanced photogenerated charge carrier; and promotes the reactive sites for water oxidation, which was proved by the double-layer capacitance. The TNTs/NiPi photoelectrode exhibited excellent photostabilization under continuous illumination for 5 h, and the photoconversion efficiencies were 0.45%, 3-fold enhancements than with bare TNTs under the illuminations. Overall, this work might offer an innovative approach to fabricating and designing efficient electrodes with superior contact interfaces among photoanodes and numerous co-catalysts.

【 授权许可】

Unknown