Issue 8, 2016

Improving the stability and selectivity for the oxygen-evolution reaction on semiconducting WO3 photoelectrodes with a solid-state FeOOH catalyst

Abstract

WO3 electrodes were synthesized via a sol–gel route followed by the photoelectrochemical deposition of a solid state FeOOH oxygen-evolution catalyst (OEC) to observe its effects on electrode stability and selectivity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). WO3 photoanodes have been reported to degrade in aqueous solutions with pH > 3 due to the material's Arrhenius acidity and the potential formation of reactive peroxide intermediates on the WO3 surface during the course of photoelectrochemical water oxidation. The stability during photoelectrochemical OER of WO3 and WO3–FeOOH photoanodes was measured at 1.23 V vs. RHE at pH 4 and 7 in phosphate-buffered solutions. Additionally, the faradaic efficiencies of the electrodes for OER were measured at pH 4. WO3–FeOOH electrodes demonstrate a 95.9 ± 1.6% faradaic efficiency for OER in pH 4 potassium phosphate buffer at current densities of ∼0.75 mA cm−2 under 200 mW cm−2 AM1.5G illumination and an applied bias of 1.43 V vs. RHE. These experiments demonstrate that adding an FeOOH co-catalyst dramatically improves the stability of the electrodes, selectivity, and rate of OER versus that observed on WO3 films.

Graphical abstract: Improving the stability and selectivity for the oxygen-evolution reaction on semiconducting WO3 photoelectrodes with a solid-state FeOOH catalyst

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 رمضان 1436
Accepted
10 ذو القعدة 1436
First published
13 ذو القعدة 1436

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 2960-2968

Author version available

Improving the stability and selectivity for the oxygen-evolution reaction on semiconducting WO3 photoelectrodes with a solid-state FeOOH catalyst

C. R. Lhermitte, J. Garret Verwer and B. M. Bartlett, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 2960 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA04747A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements