Issue 20, 2019

Amorphous Fe2O3 for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Abstract

Fe2O3 has drawn significant attention in photocatalysis due to its natural abundance, thermodynamic stability, environmental compatibility, low toxicity and narrow bandgap. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate that amorphous Fe2O3 nanoparticles can act as efficient and robust photocatalysts for solar H2 evolution without any cocatalysts. We also establish a plausible mechanism involving the amorphization-induced thermodynamic and dynamic behaviors of amorphous Fe2O3 upon photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Thermodynamically, amorphization provides more surface states and larger carrier density, and thus elevates the conduction band edge to go across the H2 evolution potential level. Dynamically, amorphization-induced crystal field splitting weakening delocalizes the photogenerated carriers, and thus overcomes the excitation-wavelength-dependent small polaron trapping effect. These findings imply that amorphization may be a promising approach to functionalize and tailor other photocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: Amorphous Fe2O3 for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Pha 2019
Accepted
02 Leo 2019
First published
03 Leo 2019

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019,9, 5582-5592

Amorphous Fe2O3 for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Z. Lin, C. Du, B. Yan and G. Yang, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2019, 9, 5582 DOI: 10.1039/C9CY01621J

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