Titanium oxide nanotube film decorated with β-Ga2O3 nanoparticles for enhanced water splitting properties
By Jubu, Peverga R.; Chahrour, Khaled M.; Yam, F. K.; Awoji, O. M.; Yusof, Yushamdan; Choo, Ee Bee
Published in Solar Energy
2022
Abstract
TiO2 is a wide bandgap material with inherent photogenerated charge carrier recombination problems, which reduces its photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting efficiency. Considerable efforts have been dedicated to reducing this charge recombination problems by decorating the film’s surface using transition metal nanoparticles (NP) to enhanced device performance. And considerable numbers of literature reports are available to this respect. However, reports are rare for the surface modification of TiO2 nanotubes (TNT) arrays with metal oxide, specially by β-Ga2O3 nanostructures and its potential applications. Herein, the PEC water splitting properties of β-Ga2O3 NP (GNP)-modified TNT arrays is described. The TNT were synthesized by anodization, whereas the GNP were fabricated by chemical vapour deposition method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed the presence of weak β-Ga2O3 peaks and reduction in crystallite size upon GNP addition. The integration of GNP on the TNT arrays resulted in a slight increase in optical bandgap from 3.4 to 3.6 eV observed by UV–vis measurements. Linear sweep voltammetry measurement for the modified TNT photocatalyst showed a 32.5% enhancement in photocurrent density compared to the bare TNT photoelectrode, measured in 1 M HCl solution. Elemental analysis confirmed the presence of β-Ga2O3, thereby supporting the XRD and UV–vis results. This study demonstrates that GNP-activated TNT arrays could be used as photoanode for enhanced photocatalytic activity in the PEC cell.