Issue 36, 2018

Synergistic interplay of Zn and Rh-Cr promoters on Ga2O3 based photocatalysts for water splitting

Abstract

The photocatalytic water splitting activity of a wide-bandgap material, Ga2O3, is greatly boosted with the addition of a Zn and Rh-Cr co-catalyst at optimum loadings. To date, however, the exact roles of the co-catalysts and particularly the origin of their synergistic functions have not been clarified. Herein, we present how the optimum Zn loading on Ga2O3 leads to creation of a ZnGa2O4/Ga2O3 heterojunction favorable for charge separation through information on the occupied and unoccupied electronic states of Zn and Ga elucidated by X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopic methods. The function of Rh-Cr as an electron sink and reduction site was proven by photocatalytic experiments using an electron scavenger (Ag+) and by learning where Ag deposits and its effects on photocatalytic activity. Finally, perturbation of the Zn electronic structure by photoactivation was evidenced by modulation excitation X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Importantly, Rh-Cr markedly enhanced the level of the perturbation, serving as proof of the direct communication and synergy between the electronic states of Zn, present in ZnGa2O4, and Rh-Cr deposited on Ga2O3.

Graphical abstract: Synergistic interplay of Zn and Rh-Cr promoters on Ga2O3 based photocatalysts for water splitting

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 Jun 2018
Accepted
22 Aug 2018
First published
22 Aug 2018

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018,20, 23515-23521

Synergistic interplay of Zn and Rh-Cr promoters on Ga2O3 based photocatalysts for water splitting

M. Borges Ordoño, S. Yasumura, P. Glatzel and A. Urakawa, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2018, 20, 23515 DOI: 10.1039/C8CP03987A

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