TUTCRIS Research Portal

TY - JOUR

T1 - Aqueous synthesis of Z-scheme photocatalyst powders and thin-film photoanodes from earth abundant elements

AU - Šutka, A.

AU - Vanags, M.

AU - Joost, U.

AU - Šmits, K.

AU - Ruža, J.

AU - Ločs, J.

AU - Kleperis, J.

AU - Juhna, T.

N1 - INT=fot, ”Joost, U.”

PY - 2018/4/1

Y1 - 2018/4/1

N2 - Solid-state narrow band gap semiconductor heterostructures with a Z-scheme charge-transfer mechanism are the most promising photocatalytic systems for water splitting and environmental remediation under visible light. Herein, we construct all-solid Z-scheme photocatalytic systems from earth abundant elements (Ca and Fe) using an aqueous synthesis procedure. A novel Z-scheme two-component Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 heterostructure is obtained in a straightforward manner by soaking various iron-containing nanoparticles (amorphous and crystalline) with Ca(NO3)2 and performing short (20min) thermal treatments at 820°C. The obtained powder materials show high photocatalytic performances for methylene blue dye degradation under visible light (45 mW/cm2), exhibiting a rate constant up to 0.015min-1. The heterostructure exhibits a five-fold higher activity compared to that of pristine hematite. The experiments show that amorphous iron-containing substrate nanoparticles trigger the Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 heterostructure formation. We extended our study to produce Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 nanoheterostructure photoanodes via the electrochemical deposition of amorphous iron-containing sediment were used. The visible-light (15mW/cm2) photocurrent increases from 183μA/cm2 to 306μA/cm2 after coupling hematite and Ca2Fe2O5. Notably, the powders and photoanodes exhibit distinct charge-transfer mechanisms evidenced by the different stabilities of the heterostructures under different working conditions.

AB - Solid-state narrow band gap semiconductor heterostructures with a Z-scheme charge-transfer mechanism are the most promising photocatalytic systems for water splitting and environmental remediation under visible light. Herein, we construct all-solid Z-scheme photocatalytic systems from earth abundant elements (Ca and Fe) using an aqueous synthesis procedure. A novel Z-scheme two-component Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 heterostructure is obtained in a straightforward manner by soaking various iron-containing nanoparticles (amorphous and crystalline) with Ca(NO3)2 and performing short (20min) thermal treatments at 820°C. The obtained powder materials show high photocatalytic performances for methylene blue dye degradation under visible light (45 mW/cm2), exhibiting a rate constant up to 0.015min-1. The heterostructure exhibits a five-fold higher activity compared to that of pristine hematite. The experiments show that amorphous iron-containing substrate nanoparticles trigger the Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 heterostructure formation. We extended our study to produce Fe2O3/Ca2Fe2O5 nanoheterostructure photoanodes via the electrochemical deposition of amorphous iron-containing sediment were used. The visible-light (15mW/cm2) photocurrent increases from 183μA/cm2 to 306μA/cm2 after coupling hematite and Ca2Fe2O5. Notably, the powders and photoanodes exhibit distinct charge-transfer mechanisms evidenced by the different stabilities of the heterostructures under different working conditions.

KW - Hematite

KW - Photoanode

KW - Photocatalyst

KW - Photoelectrochemical properties

KW - Z-scheme

U2 - 10.1016/j.jece.2018.04.003

DO - 10.1016/j.jece.2018.04.003

M3 - Article

VL - 6

SP - 2606

EP - 2615

JO - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

JF - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

SN - 2213-3437

IS - 2

ER -