1 research outputs found
Significant Enhancement of Photoactivity in Hybrid TiO<sub>2</sub>/gāC<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Nanorod Catalysts Modified with CuāNi-Based Nanostructures
Light-driven
processes such as photocatalytic environmental remediation
and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting to produce hydrogen
under sunlight are key technologies toward energy sustainability.
Despite enormous efforts, a suitable photocatalyst fulfilling all
the main requirements such as high photoactivity under visible light,
chemical stability, environmental friendliness, and low cost has not
been found yet. A promising approach to overcome these limitations
is to use hybrid nanostructures showing improved activity and physicochemical
properties when compared with single components. Herein, we present
a novel photocatalytic nanocomposite system based on titania (TiO<sub>2</sub>): titania nanorod wrapped with NiĀ(OH)<sub>2</sub> and CuĀ(OH)<sub>2</sub> composite carbon nitride (CuNi@g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/TiO<sub>2</sub>). This carefully tuned photoanode nanostructure
shows almost one order of magnitude higher photocurrent density compared
to unsensitized TiO<sub>2</sub> nanorods for PEC water splitting upon
solar-light illumination. The heterostructured g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> strongly improves visible absorption of light, separation
of electrons and holes, and surface catalysis due to the effect of
CuĀ(OH)<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles and NiĀ(OH)<sub>2</sub> nanosheets,
respectively. The improved photoperformance ascribed to the integrative
cooperation effect of all the counterparts resulting in a one-dimensional
hydrid nanostructured photoanode with improved light absorption, facile
charge separation, and efficient surface catalysis toward PEC oxygen
evolution