Sotelo-Vazquez, C;
Quesada-Cabrera, R;
Ling, M;
Scanlon, DO;
Kafizas, A;
Thakur, PK;
Lee, TL;
... Parkin, IP; + view all
(2017)
Evidence and Effect of Photogenerated Charge Transfer for Enhanced Photocatalysis in WO3/TiO2 Heterojunction Films: A Computational and Experimental Study.
Advanced Functional Materials
, 27
(18)
, Article 1605413. 10.1002/adfm.201605413.
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Abstract
Semiconductor heterojunctions are used in a wide range of applications including catalysis, sensors, and solar-to-chemical energy conversion devices. These materials can spatially separate photogenerated charge across the heterojunction boundary, inhibiting recombination processes and synergistically enhancing their performance beyond the individual components. In this work, the WO3/TiO2 heterojunction grown by chemical vapor deposition is investigated. This consists of a highly nanostructured WO3 layer of vertically aligned nanorods that is then coated with a conformal layer of TiO2. This heterojunction shows an unusual electron transfer process, where photogenerated electrons move from the WO3 layer into TiO2. State-of-the-art hybrid density functional theory and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to elucidate the electronic interaction at the WO3/TiO2 interface. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that recombination is substantially reduced, extending both the lifetime and population of photogenerated charges into timescales relevant to most photocatalytic processes. This increases the photocatalytic efficiency of the material, which is among the highest ever reported for a thin film. In allying computational and experimental methods, this is believed to be an ideal strategy for determining the band alignment in metal oxide heterojunction systems.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Evidence and Effect of Photogenerated Charge Transfer for Enhanced Photocatalysis in WO3/TiO2 Heterojunction Films: A Computational and Experimental Study |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1002/adfm.201605413 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201605413 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Band alignment; density functional theory; hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; heterojunction; photocatalysis; transient absorption; titanium dioxide |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering 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 > Dept of Chemistry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1549561 |
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