Photoeletrochemical generation of hydrogen over carbon-doped TiO2 photoanode

Nanostructured carbon-doped TiO2 (C-TiO2) thin film was prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on ITO substrate. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the thin film showed that the crystal structure of the C-TiO2 was a hybrid of rutile and anatase. Data of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of carbon into TiO2 molecules, which formed defects. These defects narrowed the band gap of the C-TiO2 from 3.25 eV of pure TiO2 to 3.15 eV. The photoelectrochemical property of the C-TiO2 film was examined by evaluating the efficiency of hydrogen generation by water splitting in a two-compartment electrochemical system. The fastest rate of gas production was obtained when the thin film was irradiated by light at a wavelength of 325 nm; the photoresponse under visible radiation was limited, however. Applying a bias potential across the photoanode and its counter electrode can increase hydrogen generation effectively. Organic substance added to the photoanodic chamber was photocatalytically degraded which increased the photocurrent and subsequently enhanced hydrogen generation.

[1]  Claude Guimon,et al.  XPS study of thin films of titanium oxysulfides , 1991 .

[2]  D. Stojić,et al.  Hydrogen generation from water electrolysis—possibilities of energy saving , 2003 .

[3]  Hajime Haneda,et al.  Visible-light-driven photocatalysis on fluorine-doped TiO2 powders by the creation of surface oxygen vacancies , 2005 .

[4]  W. Ingler,et al.  Nanotube enhanced photoresponse of carbon modified (CM)-n-TiO2 for efficient water splitting , 2007 .

[5]  C. Ni,et al.  Size dependency of nanocrystalline TiO2 on its optical property and photocatalytic reactivity exemplified by 2-chlorophenol , 2006 .

[6]  S. Martin,et al.  Environmental Applications of Semiconductor Photocatalysis , 1995 .

[7]  K. Asai,et al.  Visible Light-Induced Degradation of Methylene Blue on S-doped TiO2 , 2003 .

[8]  A. Murphy.  Band-gap determination from diffuse reflectance measurements of semiconductor films, and application to photoelectrochemical water-splitting , 2007 .

[9]  Gustaf Arrhenius,et al.  X-ray diffraction procedures for polycrystalline and amorphous materials , 1955 .

[10]  W. Ho,et al.  Effect of carbon doping on the mesoporous structure of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide and its solar-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of NOx. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[11]  Miss A.O. Penney.  (b) , 1974, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[12]  H. Idriss,et al.  Photo-catalytic production of hydrogen form ethanol over M/TiO2 catalysts (M = Pd, Pt or Rh) , 2006 .

[13]  G. Pacchioni,et al.  Theory of Carbon Doping of Titanium Dioxide , 2005 .

[14]  J. Armor,et al.  The multiple roles for catalysis in the production of H2 , 1999 .

[15]  Photocatalytic Activity of Pulsed Laser Deposited TiO2 Thin Films , 2007, 0712.3096.

[16]  Charles C. Sorrell,et al.  Photo-electrochemical hydrogen generation from water using solar energy. Materials-related aspects , 2002 .

[17]  Craig A. Grimes,et al.  Appropriate strategies for determining the photoconversion efficiency of water photoelectrolysis cells : A review with examples using titania nanotube array photoanodes , 2008 .

[18]  S. Goldstein,et al.  Mechanism of Visible Light Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol in Aerated Aqueous Suspensions of Carbon-Doped TiO2 , 2008 .

[19]  Xiaoli Cui,et al.  Visible Light Photoelectrochemical Response of Carbon- Doped TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by DC Reactive Magnetron Sputtering , 2007 .

[20]  H. Tributsch,et al.  Electrochemical mass spectroscopic and surface photovoltage studies of catalytic water photooxidation by undoped and carbon-doped titania. , 2005, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[21]  Craig A. Grimes,et al.  Light, Water, Hydrogen: The Solar Generation of Hydrogen by Water Photoelectrolysis , 2011 .

[22]  J. Augustynski,et al.  Spectral Photoresponses of Carbon-Doped TiO2 Film Electrodes , 2004 .

[23]  Ion N. Mihailescu,et al.  Anatase phase TiO2 thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition for gas sensing applications , 2005 .

[24]  C. MacRae,et al.  Boron Incorporation into Rutile. Phase Equilibria and Structure Considerations , 1996 .

[25]  J. P. Lewis,et al.  Second-generation photocatalytic materials: anion-doped TiO2 , 2005 .

[26]  H. Barnert,et al.  Thermochemical processes for water splitting-status and outlook , 1984 .

[27]  E. Sánchez,et al.  Synthesis and Characterization of Sol–Gel Pt/TiO2Catalyst , 1996 .

[28]  A. Fujishima,et al.  Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode , 1972, Nature.

[29]  Hyunwoong Park,et al.  Solar-powered electrochemical oxidation of organic compounds coupled with the cathodic production of molecular hydrogen. , 2008, The journal of physical chemistry. A.

[30]  R. Asahi,et al.  Visible-Light Photocatalysis in Nitrogen-Doped Titanium Oxides , 2001, Science.

[31]  S. Hotchandani,et al.  Electrochemically assisted photocatalysis: titania particulate film electrodes for photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol , 1993 .

[32]  Andrew G. Glen,et al.  APPL , 2001 .

[33]  T. Yoko,et al.  Enhanced photocurrent in thin film TiO2 electrodes prepared by sol–gel method , 2001 .

[34]  Aaron Wold,et al.  Photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) , 1993 .

[35]  W. Ingler,et al.  Efficient Photochemical Water Splitting by a Chemically Modified n-TiO2 , 2002, Science.

[36]  Debabrata Das,et al.  Hydrogen production by biological processes: a survey of literature , 2001 .

[37]  M. Okoshi,et al.  Improvement of Photocatalytic Efficiency of TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition , 2005 .

[38]  Ryuhei Nakamura,et al.  Mechanism for Visible Light Responses in Anodic Photocurrents at N-Doped TiO2 Film Electrodes , 2004 .

[39]  A. Kasuya,et al.  Optimization of a two-compartment photoelectrochemical cell for solar hydrogen production , 2003 .

[40]  J. Schoonman,et al.  The Photoresponse of Iron- and Carbon-Doped TiO2 (Anatase) Photoelectrodes , 2004 .

[41]  J. Yates,et al.  Photocatalysis on TiO2 Surfaces: Principles, Mechanisms, and Selected Results , 1995 .

[42]  B. Kasemo,et al.  Comment on "Efficient Photochemical Water Splitting by a Chemically Modified n-TiO2" (II) , 2003, Science.

[43]  A. Murphy.  Does carbon doping of TiO2 allow water splitting in visible light? Comments on Nanotube enhanced photoresponse of carbon modified (CM)-n-TiO2 for efficient water splitting , 2008 .

[44]  Guohua Chen,et al.  Fabrication of Boron-Doped TiO2 Nanotube Array Electrode and Investigation of Its Photoelectrochemical Capability , 2007 .

[45]  Shahed U. M. Khan,et al.  Photoresponse of Visible Light Active Carbon-Modified -n-TiO2 Thin Films , 2007 .

[46]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.