1 research outputs found
Quantitative Study of Charge Carrier Dynamics in Well-Defined WO<sub>3</sub> Nanowires and Nanosheets: Insight into the Crystal Facet Effect in Photocatalysis
Photocatalysts
with different morphologies and specific exposed
facets usually exhibit distinguished activities. Previous researches
have focused on revealing the essence of the facet effect in photocatalysis;
however, quantitative analyses on the differences of carrier dynamic
between different facets are scarce. Herein, we successfully synthesized
WO<sub>3</sub> nanosheets and nanowires with dominant exposed facets
of {001} and {110}, respectively. The lower hole effective mass on
{110} (0.94<i>m</i><sub>0</sub>) than on {001} (1.28<i>m</i><sub>0</sub>) calculated by density functional theory leads
to the higher hole mobility on {110} (4.92 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>–1</sup> s<sup>–1</sup>) than on {001} (3.14 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>–1</sup> s<sup>–1</sup>). Combined with the Einstein
equation and the lifetime of the hole, the calculated hole diffusion
length on {110} (74.8 nm) is larger than on {001} (53.4 nm). Overall,
the lower hole effective mass, higher hole mobility, and greater hole
diffusion length on {110} collectively result in a photocatalytic
activity on benzyl alcohol oxidation 2.46 times as high as that on
{001}