Electronic configuration modulation of tin dioxide by phosphorus dopant for pathway change in electrocatalytic water oxidation

Abstract

The oxygen evolution process is a crucial part determining the total reaction kinetics of electrocatalytic overall water splitting for clean hydrogen production. However, for some semiconductor materials, e.g. tin dioxide (SnO₂) and tungsten oxide (WO₃), the water oxidation process generally proceeds following the two-electron pathway with rather high driving potential for the generation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂ or HO₂⁻). In this work, efficient electronic configuration modulation of SnO₂ nanoparticles was realized by non-metallic phosphorus (P) doping, giving rise to the considerable transformation into a four-electron transfer-governed water oxidation reaction with the electrocatalytic activity even comparable to the benchmark RuO₂ nanoparticles. These results validate the great potential in remarkably tuning the electrocatalytic performance of transition metal compound electrocatalysts with non-metallic element dopants.