Tungsten trioxide film photoanodes prepared by aerosol pyrolysis for photoelectrochemical applications

Brada, Martin; Neumann‐Spallart, M.; Krýsa, Josef

doi:10.1016/j.cattod.2022.12.012

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…In addition, WO 3 is relatively stable under anodic conditions in acidic media, though it does undergo noticeable photo-corrosion in different electrolytes [9]. Photoactive WO 3 films have been prepared through various methods such as hydrothermal [10,11] or sol-gel synthesis [12], magnetron sputtering [13], spray/aerosol pyrolysis [14,15], as well as electrochemically on the cathode [16][17][18] or anode [19,20]. A modification of anodic synthesis is plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), which has been used to grow transition metal oxide coatings and heterostructures [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrochemical Synthesis of a WO3/MoSx Heterostructured Bifunctional Catalyst for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

et al. 2023

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Photo-/electrochemical water splitting can be a suitable method to produce “green” hydrogen and oxygen by utilizing renewable energy or even direct sunlight. In order to carry out photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, a photoanode based on transition metal oxides, which absorbs photons and produces photoexcited electron–hole pairs, is needed. The positively charged holes can then participate in the water oxidation reaction. Meanwhile, a cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can occur more efficiently with electrocatalytic materials that enhance the adsorption of H+, such as MoS2. In this study, it was shown that WO3/MoSx heterostructured materials can be synthesized by an electrochemical method called plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). During this process, many micro-breakdowns of the oxide layer occur, causing ionization of the oxide and electrolyte. The ionized mixture then cools and solidifies, resulting in crystalline WO3 with incorporated MoSx. The surface and cross-sectional morphology were characterized by SEM-FIB, and the coatings could reach up to 3.48 μm thickness. Inclusion of MoSx was confirmed by EDX as well as XPS. Synthesis conditions were found to have an influence on the band gap, with the lowest value being 2.38 eV. Scanning electrochemical microscopy was used to map the local HER activity and correlate the activity hotspots to MoSx’s content and surface topography. The bifunctional catalyst based on a WO3/MoSx heterostructure was evaluated for PEC and HER water-splitting activities. As a photoanode, it could reach up to 6% photon conversion efficiency. For HER in acidic media, a Tafel slope of 42.6 mV·dec−1 can be reached.

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