A BiOCl/β-FeOOH heterojunction for HER photocatalytic performance under visible-light illumination

Abstract

Summary β‐iron oxide hydroxide (β‐FeOOH) had been proven to be an effective co‐catalyst during H2 evolution reaction (HER) process. In this research, a BiOCl/β‐FeOOH heterojunction was successfully synthesized by a solid‐state doping method. Then, the structure, composition, and photo‐electrochemical properties of the prepared photocatalysts were studied. For the superior HER photocatalytic activity of ultrasmall β‐FeOOH nanoparticles (NPs) and the formation of the BiOCl/β‐FeOOH heterojunction, this heterojunction photocatalyst exhibited very superior photocatalytic performance in the HER process. Especially, when the amount of incorporated β‐FeOOH NPs was appropriate, the BFOH‐2 possessed the highest photocatalytic activity in HER process, and the HER rate was about 16.64 mmol·g−1·h−1 during illuminated time of 6 hours under visible light. When appropriate, ultrasmall β‐FeOOH NPs were implanted into the structure of BiOCl, the BiOCl/β‐FeOOH heterojunction interfaces would form for the existence of interfacial interactions. Therefore, this BiOCl/β‐FeOOH heterojunction exhibited superior visible‐light response, fast photo‐carrier migration, and high‐efficient separation of photo‐carriers, so that the BFOH‐2 heterojunction possessed high‐efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) photocatalytic activity.

One-Pot Synthesis of Chlorophyll-Assisted Exfoliated MoS2/WS2 Heterostructures via Liquid-Phase Exfoliation Method for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

“…Usually, they absorb 5−10% of incident light in the visible range, and the exfoliated thin sheets have shown photovoltaic characteristics. A range of optoelectronic devices predominantly based on thin sheets have been demonstrated [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The pristine two-dimensional thin sheet results in a direct band gap in the visible range, such as ∼2.0 eV for tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ) and ∼1.8 eV for molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) [ 15 ], while in bulk form, they retain an indirect band gap of between 1.1 and 1.4 eV.…”

High photoresponse and fast carrier mobility: Two‐dimensional rGO‐AgBr/Ag composite based on Z‐scheme heterointerface with plasma for hydrogen evolution

“…In Figure 3C, the shift (0.8 eV) of the C-O/C-OH and O=C peaks in rGO and rGAA-2 to low bond energy can be attributed to the interfacial interactions between Ag/AgBr and rGO, 67 and the narrower peak of C-C also suggests more ordered graphene structure. 68,69 Compared with pristine AgBr, two peaks at 373.6 and 367.6 eV in the Ag 3d core spectrum of rGAA-2 is respectively attributed to the binding energies of Ag 3d 3/2 and Ag 3d 5/2 in Ag + and Ag 0 ( Figure 3D), 70,71 which demonstrates the generation of Ag plasmas in this structure. In Figure 3E, two peaks at 68.8 and 67.7 eV are identified as Br3d 3/2 and Br3d 5/2 of Brin AgBr.…”

CuCoO2/CuO heterostructure: understanding the role of band alignment in selective catalysis for overall water splitting

“…These strategies include doping, [7][8][9] morphology control, [10][11][12] and construction of heterostructures. [13][14][15] Among them, the construction of heterostructures has emerged as an important strategy to enhance the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Heterostructures possess the capacity to efficiently separate and transport photogenerated charges, enabling electrons and holes to move in opposite directions, which results in the effective transport and separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.…”