Issue 16, 2021

Surface oxygen vacancies of TiO2 nanorods by electron beam irradiation for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract

In this work, a high energy electron beam (EBI) with an energy of 0.1 MeV was applied to modify the surface structure of TiO2 nanorod arrays (NRs). We have found that the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting activity of the EBI-TiO2 photoanode was enhanced greatly compared to that of pristine TiO2 due to the enriched oxygen vacancies (VO) introduced at the surface of TiO2 NRs via EBI treatment. The concentration of surface VO is easily controlled via the adjustment of irradiation doses, which is a key factor in influencing the PEC performance. After modification, the photocurrent density is markedly promoted without typical doping or catalyst modification, and is approximately double that of the pristine TiO2. Systematic studies have been conducted to reveal the mechanism for the charge separation and transport induced by the EBI process.

Graphical abstract: Surface oxygen vacancies of TiO2 nanorods by electron beam irradiation for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 feb. 2021
Accepted
14 mar. 2021
First published
08 apr. 2021

CrystEngComm, 2021,23, 2952-2960

Surface oxygen vacancies of TiO2 nanorods by electron beam irradiation for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

J. Huang, T. Chen, M. Zhao, P. Yi, F. Zhao, B. He, Y. Wang, Y. Chen, X. Liu and Z. Li, CrystEngComm, 2021, 23, 2952 DOI: 10.1039/D1CE00205H

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