3:30 PM - 3:45 PM
▼ [17p-A404-9] TiN Nanoparticle-Incorporated C3N4–C Dot Sheets for Efficient Solar Light Absorption and Photoelectrochemical Conversion
Keywords:photoelectrochemical conversion, carbon nitride, titanium nitride
In the past few decades, several different visible light-active photocatalytic materials such as composite metal oxides, sulfides, and oxynitrides, and noble metal-based plasmonic photocatalysts have been developed.1 To improve the performance of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, further improvement in the light absorption ability of the photocatalyst is required. Recently, Wang et al. have reported polymeric graphite-like carbon nitride (C3N4) as a stable metal-free photocatalyst for water splitting under visible light irradiation.2 During water splitting, C3N4 requires sacrificial reagent and also suffers from poisoning by the produced H2O2. Various attempt have been made to improve the catalytic activity of C3N4.2 It has been proposed that plasmonic metal nanostructures can improve the solar energy conversion efficiency of inorganic/semiconductor materials.1,2 Titanium nitride (TiN), which is a conductive ceramic and an alternative plasmonic material in the visible and near-infrared region, has been found to be a promising material for photoexciting hot carriers.3,4
In this work, a promising strategy to increase the broadband solar light absorption was developed by synthesizing a composite of metal-free carbon nitride–carbon dots (C3N4–C dots) and plasmonic TiN nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the PEC water-splitting performance under simulated solar radiation.4 Hot-electron injection from the plasmonic TiN NPs to C3N4 played a role in visible photocatalysis, whereas C dots acted as catalysts for the decomposition of H2O2 to O2 (Fig. 1). By incorporating the TiN NPs and C dots, a six-fold improvement in the catalytic performance of the C3N4 was observed. The proposed approach of combining TiN NPs and C dots with C3N4 is proved to be effective in overcoming low optical absorption and also widens the spectral window, leading to improved photocatalytic activity.
References:
1. Liu, J. et. al. Science 2015, 347, 970.
4. X. Wang et al., Nat. Mater. 2009, 8, 76.
3. Ishii, et. al. ACS Photonics 2016, 3, 1552.
4. Shinde, et. al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b15066.
In this work, a promising strategy to increase the broadband solar light absorption was developed by synthesizing a composite of metal-free carbon nitride–carbon dots (C3N4–C dots) and plasmonic TiN nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the PEC water-splitting performance under simulated solar radiation.4 Hot-electron injection from the plasmonic TiN NPs to C3N4 played a role in visible photocatalysis, whereas C dots acted as catalysts for the decomposition of H2O2 to O2 (Fig. 1). By incorporating the TiN NPs and C dots, a six-fold improvement in the catalytic performance of the C3N4 was observed. The proposed approach of combining TiN NPs and C dots with C3N4 is proved to be effective in overcoming low optical absorption and also widens the spectral window, leading to improved photocatalytic activity.
References:
1. Liu, J. et. al. Science 2015, 347, 970.
4. X. Wang et al., Nat. Mater. 2009, 8, 76.
3. Ishii, et. al. ACS Photonics 2016, 3, 1552.
4. Shinde, et. al. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b15066.