Tantalum Cobalt Nitride Photocatalysts for Water Oxidation under Visible Light

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• 作者：Yanqing Cong ; Hyun S. Park ; Hoang X. Dang ; Fu-Ren F. Fan ; Allen J. Bard ; C. Buddie Mullins
• 刊名：Chemistry of Materials
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：February 14, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：24
• 期：3
• 页码：579-586
• 全文大小：563K
• 年卷期：v.24,no.3(February 14, 2012)
• ISSN：1520-5002

文摘

Tantalum cobalt nitride photocatalysts were prepared using a simple drop coating method on a Ta foil substrate followed by thermal ammonia treatment, and their photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties for water oxidation under visible light were studied. The resulting Ta_0.9Co_0.1N_x films showed a photocurrent of ca. 1.5 mA/cm² (12 times higher than that of Ta₃N₅) under 100 mW/cm² visible light irradiation at 0.7 V vs Ag/AgCl in a 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution (pH 11). The good PEC performance was attributed to the introduction of cobalt and the formation of cobalt nitride, which efficiently facilitates electron transfer and suppresses the recombination of photogenerated electron鈥揾ole pairs. Some cobalt nitride could further be oxidized to generate cobalt oxide, which serves as an efficient electrocatalyst for water oxidation. The enhanced visible light activity and film stability under light irradiation make tantalum cobalt nitride a promising semiconductor for PEC water oxidation.

Keywords:

tantalum cobalt nitride photocatalysts; photo-oxidation of water; photoelectrochemistry