A multitude of modifications strategy of ZnFe2O4 nanorod photoanodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (26) ◽  
pp. 12693-12700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju Hun Kim ◽  
Youn Jeong Jang ◽  
Sun Hee Choi ◽  
Byeong Jun Lee ◽  
Jeong Hun Kim ◽  
...  

Numerous modifications strategies are applied to spinel ZnFe2O4 nanorods with a band gap energy of ∼2.0 eV to enhance their activity as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting.

2020 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 20402
Author(s):  
Kaoutar Benthami ◽  
Mai ME. Barakat ◽  
Samir A. Nouh

Nanocomposite (NCP) films of polycarbonate-polybutylene terephthalate (PC-PBT) blend as a host material to Cr2O3 and CdS nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by both thermolysis and casting techniques. Samples from the PC-PBT/Cr2O3 and PC-PBT/CdS NCPs were irradiated using different doses (20–110 kGy) of γ radiation. The induced modifications in the optical properties of the γ irradiated NCPs have been studied as a function of γ dose using UV Vis spectroscopy and CIE color difference method. Optical dielectric loss and Tauc's model were used to estimate the optical band gaps of the NCP films and to identify the types of electronic transition. The value of optical band gap energy of PC-PBT/Cr2O3 NCP was reduced from 3.23 to 3.06 upon γ irradiation up to 110 kGy, while it decreased from 4.26 to 4.14 eV for PC-PBT/CdS NCP, indicating the growth of disordered phase in both NCPs. This was accompanied by a rise in the refractive index for both the PC-PBT/Cr2O3 and PC-PBT/CdS NCP films, leading to an enhancement in their isotropic nature. The Cr2O3 NPs were found to be more effective in changing the band gap energy and refractive index due to the presence of excess oxygen atoms that help with the oxygen atoms of the carbonyl group in increasing the chance of covalent bonds formation between the NPs and the PC-PBT blend. Moreover, the color intensity, ΔE has been computed; results show that both the two synthesized NCPs have a response to color alteration by γ irradiation, but the PC-PBT/Cr2O3 has a more response since the values of ΔE achieved a significant color difference >5 which is an acceptable match in commercial reproduction on printing presses. According to the resulting enhancement in the optical characteristics of the developed NCPs, they can be a suitable candidate as activate materials in optoelectronic devices, or shielding sheets for solar cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1923-1930
Author(s):  
Austine Amukayia Mulama ◽  
Julius Mwakondo Mwabora ◽  
Andrew Odhiambo Oduor ◽  
Cosmas Mulwa Muiva ◽  
Boniface Muthoka ◽  
...  

 Selenium-based chalcogenides are useful in telecommunication devices like infrared optics and threshold switching devices. The investigated system of Ge5Se95-xZnx (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 4 at.%) has been prepared from high purity constituent elements. Thin films from the bulk material were deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation. Optical absorbance measurements have been performed on the as-deposited thin films using transmission spectra. The allowed optical transition was found to be indirect and the corresponding band gap energy determined. The variation of optical band gap energy with the average coordination number has also been investigated based on the chemical bonding between the constituents and the rigidity behaviour of the system’s network.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajia Tao ◽  
Hong-Ping Ma ◽  
Kaiping Yuan ◽  
Yang Gu ◽  
Jianwei Lian ◽  
...  

<div>As a promising oxygen evolution reaction semiconductor, TiO2 has been extensively investigated for solar photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here, a highly efficient and stable strategy for rationally preparing GaON cocatalysts on TiO2 by atomic layer deposition is demonstrated, which we show significantly enhances the</div><div>photoelectrochemical performance compared to TiO2-based photoanodes. For TiO2@20 nm-GaON core-shell nanowires a photocurrent density up to 1.10 mA cm-2 (1.23 V vs RHE) under AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm-2) has been achieved, which is 14 times higher than that of TiO2 NWs. Furthermore, the oxygen vacancy formation on GaON as well as the band gap matching with TiO2 not only provides more active sites for water oxidation but also enhances light absorption to promote interfacial charge separation and migration. Density functional theory studies of model systems of GaON-modified TiO2 confirm the band gap reduction, high reducibility and ability to activate water. The highly efficient and stable systems of TiO2@GaON core-shell nanowires provide a deeper understanding and universal strategy for enhancing photoelectrochemical performance of photoanodes now available. </div>


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1118
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mustapha Alibe ◽  
Khamirul Amin Matori ◽  
Mohd Hafiz Mohd Zaid ◽  
Salisu Nasir ◽  
Ali Mustapha Alibe ◽  
...  

The contemporary market needs for enhanced solid–state lighting devices has led to an increased demand for the production of willemite based phosphors using low-cost techniques. In this study, Ce3+ doped willemite nanoparticles were fabricated using polymer thermal treatment method. The special effects of the calcination temperatures and the dopant concentration on the structural and optical properties of the material were thoroughly studied. The XRD analysis of the samples treated at 900 °C revealed the development and or materialization of the willemite phase. The increase in the dopant concentration causes an expansion of the lattice owing to the replacement of larger Ce3+ ions for smaller Zn2+ ions. Based on the FESEM and TEM micrographs, the nanoparticles size increases with the increase in the cerium ions. The mean particles sizes were estimated to be 23.61 nm at 1 mol% to 34.02 nm at 5 mol% of the cerium dopant. The optical band gap energy of the doped samples formed at 900 °C decreased precisely by 0.21 eV (i.e., 5.21 to 5.00 eV). The PL analysis of the doped samples exhibits a strong emission at 400 nm which is ascribed to the transition of an electron from localized Ce2f state to the valence band of O2p. The energy level of the Ce3+ ions affects the willemite crystal lattice, thus causing a decrease in the intensity of the green emission at 530 nm and the blue emission at 485 nm. The wide optical band gap energy of the willemite produced is expected to pave the way for exciting innovations in solid–state lighting applications.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zichen Shen ◽  
Huanzhen Liu ◽  
Xuemei Jia ◽  
Qiaofeng Han ◽  
Huiping Bi

Bismuth-rich oxyhalides are promising photocatalysts due to their special layered structure and adjustable band gap energy. In this work, a series of bismuth oxyiodides were fabricated by grinding-assistant calcining in...


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 8061-8072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erhuan Zhang ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Muwei Ji ◽  
Hongzhi Wang ◽  
Xiaodong Wan ◽  
...  

Construction of hollow anisotropic semiconductor nanostructures that possess excellent crystallinity, flexibly tunable structure/morphology and aqueous dispersity is of special interest for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting


2011 ◽  
Vol 83 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Demichel ◽  
V. Calvo ◽  
P. Noé ◽  
B. Salem ◽  
P.-F. Fazzini ◽  
...  

1992 ◽  
Vol 31 (Part 1, No. 2A) ◽  
pp. 295-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noboru Miura ◽  
Takashi Sasaki ◽  
Hironaga Matsumoto ◽  
Ryotaro Nakano

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