McLeod, Natalie Jamila;
(2025)
Bismuth materials for photocatalysis and the catalysed electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formate.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Natalie Jamila McLeod-PhD Thesis-Final Version 2025_NM.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 August 2026. Download (12MB) |
Abstract
Solid solution BiOX were synthesised to understand the effect of halide composition on the optical band gap, and by extension its application as a photo- and electro-catalyst. The bowing parameters of the various BiOX solid solution materials were also assessed, to understand the band bending effects resulting from the tuning of the bandgap/ variation in halide content. The crystal phase of the BiOX was identified using XRD, subsequent analysis of the diffraction patterns (using Rietveld refinement) was used to calculate the lattice parameters. The extent of deviation from Vegard’s law was evaluated to discuss the relationship between the halide composition and the lattice parameters. Overall, this study determined the properties of solid solution BiOX and the composition, providing a good basis for further study on the functional applications of this material as an electrocatalyst and photocatalyst, typically inorganic materials with a band gap ≤3 eV are considered photoactive, so this was investigated using the wide range of optical band gap materials synthesised. The selectivity and efficiency of BiOX derived catalysts, for the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ to formic acid/ formate was also studied in this work. Finally, ex-situ materials characterisation techniques were again used to determine the composition and structure of the BiOX derived catalysts, post CO₂RR and compared with the initial starting materials (characterised in Chapter 2), to elucidate the transformation of the catalyst when subject to electrochemical reduction.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Bismuth materials for photocatalysis and the catalysed electrochemical conversion of CO2 to formate |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office > Institute for Materials Discovery |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10207248 |
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