Effect of thickness on photoconversion efficiency of Al2TiO5/TiO2/Al2O3 nanocomposite films as photoanode in water splitting

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Materials Science & Engineering Department, Sharif University of Technology, International Campus, Kish Island, Iran

2 Sharif U. of Tech.

Abstract

The thickness of the photoanode film plays a crucial role in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting process, significantly impacting the photoconversion efficiency. The optimal thickness of the photoanode enhances the photocurrent density by making a balance between light absorption and electrolyte mass transfer. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of thickness on the photoelectrochemical performance of the Al2TiO5-based nanocomposite layer as a photoanode under the sunlight simulator. Al2TiO5/TiO2/Al2O3 nanocomposite was initially synthesized utilizing the citrate sol-gel technique, and after the calcination at 800°C, it was deposited on the fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass slide (FTO) substrate by the Dr. Blade method in which, several films of various thicknesses can be prepared from a unique paste, by just changing the adhesive tape layers. The Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) technique was utilized to determine the band gap energy value of all specimens, and the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) method was used to investigate the morphology and to determine the thickness of the deposited films. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis exhibited the presence of the tialite (Al2TiO‌5) phase besides the anatase, rutile, and corundum phases. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were utilized to estimate the accessible surface area in specimens. Different photoelectrochemical results were expected to be obtained by the photoanodes with different thicknesses of the Al2TiO5/TiO2/Al2O3 nanocomposite films. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements revealed that the highest photoconversion efficiency was achievable by the tialite-based sample by the thickness of about 5 µm which was about 20% higher than the obtained value by the thinner or even thicker tialite-based nanocomposite samples.

Keywords

References

  1. Seiß V, Helbig U, Lösel R, Eichelbaum M. Investigating and correlating photoelectrochemical, photocatalytic, and antimicrobial properties of TiO2 nanolayers. Scientific Reports. 2021 Nov 12;11(1):22200.
  2. Salvador P. Hole diffusion length in n‐TiO2 single crystals and sintered electrodes: Photoelectrochemical determination and comparative analysis. Journal of applied physics. 1984 Apr 15;55(8):2977-85.
  3. Amami B, Addou M, Millot F, Sabioni A, Monty C. Self-diffusion in α-Fe2O3 natural single crystals. Ionics. 1999 Sep;5:358-70.
  4. Phoon BL, Pan GT, Yang TC, Lee KM, Lai CW, Juan JC. Facile preparation of nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films using electrophoretic deposition for enhancing photoelectrochemical water splitting response. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. 2017 Nov;28:16244-53.
  5. Liou YJ, Hsiao PT, Chen LC, Chu YY, Teng H. Structure and electron-conducting ability of TiO2 films from electrophoretic deposition and paste-coating for dye-sensitized solar cells. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 2011 Dec 29;115(51):25580-9.
  6. Merazga A, Al-Subai F, Albaradi AM, Badawi A, Jaber AY, Alghamdi AA. Effect of sol–gel MgO spin-coating on the performance of TiO2-based dye-sensitized solar cells. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. 2016 Jan 1;41:114-20.
  7. Lindgren T, Mwabora JM, Avendaño E, Jonsson J, Hoel A, Granqvist CG, Lindquist SE. Photoelectrochemical and optical properties of nitrogen doped titanium dioxide films prepared by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. 2003 Jun 19;107(24):5709-16.
  8. Parrino F, Palmisano L, editors. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and its applications. elsevier; 2020 Nov 29.
  9. Chen Y, Hong L, Xue H, Han W, Wang L, Sun X, Li J. Preparation and characterization of TiO2-NTs/SnO2-Sb electrodes by electrodeposition. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. 2010 Oct 1;648(2):119-27.
  10. Cheng C, Zhang H, Ren W, Dong W, Sun Y. Three dimensional urchin-like ordered hollow TiO2/ZnO nanorods structure as efficient photoelectrochemical anode. Nano Energy. 2013 Sep 1;2(5):779-86.
  11. Hou Y, Li X, Zou X, Quan X, Chen G. Photoeletrocatalytic activity of a Cu2O-loaded self-organized highly oriented TiO2 nanotube array electrode for 4-chlorophenol degradation. Environmental science & technology. 2009 Feb 1;43(3):858-63.
  12. Wang R, Bai J, Li Y, Zeng Q, Li J, Zhou B. BiVO4/TiO2 (N2) nanotubes heterojunction photoanode for highly efficient photoelectrocatalytic applications. Nano-micro letters. 2017 Apr;9:1-9.
  13. Li M, Liu H, Lv T, Ding M. Synergistic effect of the valence bond environment and exposed crystal facets of the TiO2/SnS2 heterojunction for achieving enhanced electrocatalytic oxygen evolution. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. 2018;6(8):3488-99.
  14. Bakhshandeh F, Azarniya A, Hosseini HR, Jafari S. Are aluminium titanate-based nanostructures new photocatalytic materials? Possibilities and perspectives. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry. 2018 Feb 15;353:316-24.
  15. Trung ND, Tri N, Phuong PH, Anh HC. Synthesis of highly active heterostructured Al2TiO5/TiO2 photocatalyst in a neutral medium. Journal of Nanomaterials. 2020;2020(1):6684791.
  16. Stojadinović S, Radić N, Vasilić R. High photocatalytic activity of TiO2/Al2TiO5 coatings obtained by plasma electrolytic oxidation of titanium. Materials Letters. 2023 May 1;338:134069.
  17. Trung ND, Anh HC, Tri N, Loc LC. Fabrication of TiO2/Al2TiO5 nanocomposite photocatalysts. International Journal of Nanotechnology. 2020;17(7-10):607-22.
  18. Nguyen DT, Nguyen TH, Nguyen TN. Al2TiO5/SBA-15 promoting photocatalytic degradation of cinnamic acid. CTU Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. 2020 Jul 31;12(2):45-52.
  19. Hajihashemi M, Shamanian M, Ashrafizadeh F. Band gap tuning of oxygen vacancy-induced Al2O3-TiO2 ceramics processed by spark plasma sintering. Journal of Electroceramics. 2022 Feb 1:1-6.
  20. Brinker CJ, Scherer GW. Sol-gel science: the physics and chemistry of sol-gel processing. Academic press; 2013 Oct 22.
  21. Hench LL, West JK. The sol-gel process. Chemical reviews. 1990 Jan 1;90(1):33-72.
  22. Klein LC, editor. Sol-gel optics: processing and applications. Springer Science & Business Media; 2013 Nov 27.
  23. Yang H, Zhu M, Li Y. Sol–gel research in China: a brief history and recent research trends in synthesis of sol–gel derived materials and their applications. Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology. 2023 May;106(2):406-21.
  24. Sobhani M, Rezaie HR, Naghizadeh R. Sol–gel synthesis of aluminum titanate (Al2TiO5) nano-particles. Journal of materials processing technology. 2008 Sep 12;206(1-3):282-5.
  25. Andrianainarivelo M, Corriu RJ, Leclercq D, Mutin PH, Vioux A. Nonhydrolytic sol− gel process: aluminum titanate gels. Chemistry of materials. 1997 May 15;9(5):1098-102.
  26. Azarniya A, Azarniya A, Hosseini HR, Simchi A. Nanostructured aluminium titanate (Al2TiO5) particles and nanofibers: Synthesis and mechanism of microstructural evolution. Materials Characterization. 2015 May 1;103:125-32.
  27. Azarniya A, Hosseini HR. A new method for fabrication of in situ Al/Al3Ti–Al2O3 nanocomposites based on thermal decomposition of nanostructured tialite. Journal of Alloys and Compounds. 2015 Sep 15;643:64-73.
  28. Garcia-Torregrosa I, Wijten JH, Zanoni S, Oropeza FE, Hofmann JP, Hensen EJ, Weckhuysen BM. Template-free nanostructured fluorine-doped tin oxide scaffolds for photoelectrochemical water splitting. ACS applied materials & interfaces. 2019 Sep 16;11(40):36485-96.
  29. Noh E, Noh KJ, Yun KS, Kim BR, Jeong HJ, Oh HJ, Jung SC, Kang WS, Kim SJ. Enhanced Water Splitting by Fe2O3‐TiO2‐FTO Photoanode with Modified Energy Band Structure. The Scientific World Journal. 2013;2013(1):723201.
  30. Gossen K, Ehrmann A. Influence of FTO glass cleaning on DSSC performance. Optik. 2019 Apr 1;183:253-6.
  31. Zheng F, Lu H, Guo M, Zhang M. Effect of substrate pre-treatment on controllable synthesis of hexagonal WO3 nanorod arrays and their electrochromic properties. CrystEngComm. 2013;15(29):5828-37.
  32. Kamarulzaman NH, Salleh H, Dagang AN, Ghazali MS, Ishak N, Ahmad Z. Optimization of Titanium Dioxide Layer Fabrication Using Doctor Blade Method in Improving Efficiency of Hybrid Solar Cells. InJournal of Physics: Conference Series 2020 May 1 (Vol. 1535, No. 1, p. 012025). IOP Publishing.
  33. Faddouli A, Hartiti B, Masat M, Ertugrul M, Fadili S, Labrim H. Comparative Study of Titanium Dioxide Thin Films Deposited by Spray Pyrolysis and doctor blade methodfor Solar Cells Applications. InSustainable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus in Deserts: Proceeding of the First International Conference on Sustainable Energy-Water-Environment Nexus in Desert Climates 2022 Apr 26 (pp. 393-398). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  34. Berni A, Mennig M, Schmidt H. Doctor blade. Springer US; 2004.
  35. Patterson AL. The Scherrer formula for X-ray particle size determination. Physical review. 1939 Nov 15;56(10):978.
  36. López R, Gómez R. Band-gap energy estimation from diffuse reflectance measurements on sol–gel and commercial TiO2: a comparative study. Journal of sol-gel science and technology. 2012 Jan;61:1-7.
  37. Kundu A, Fisher TS. Harnessing the thermogalvanic effect of the ferro/ferricyanide redox couple in a thermally chargeable supercapacitor. Electrochimica Acta. 2018 Aug 10;281:357-69.
  38. Sivula K. Metal oxide photoelectrodes for solar fuel production, surface traps, and catalysis. The journal of physical chemistry letters. 2013 May 16;4(10):1624-33.
  39. Wang Z, Zhu H, Tu W, Zhu X, Yao Y, Zhou Y, Zou Z. Host/guest nanostructured photoanodes integrated with targeted enhancement strategies for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Advanced Science. 2022 Jan;9(2):2103744.
  40. Scandola L, Latorrata S, Matarrese R, Cristiani C, Nova I. Effect of thickness and cracking phenomena on the photocatalytic performances of Ti/TiO2 photoanodes produced by dip coating. Materials Chemistry and Physics. 2019 Aug 1;234:1-8.
  41. Joudi F, Naceur JB, Ouertani R, Chtourou R. A novel strategy to produce compact and adherent thin films of SnO2/TiO2 composites suitable for water splitting and pollutant degradation. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. 2019 Jan 15;30:167-79.
  42. Zhao H, Li H, Yu H, Chang H, Quan X, Chen S. CNTs–TiO2/Al2O3 composite membrane with a photocatalytic function: Fabrication and energetic performance in water treatment. Separation and Purification Technology. 2013 Sep 15;116:360-5.

 

Journal of Ultrafine Grained and Nanostructured Materials
Volume 57, Issue 1
June 2024
Pages 48-60

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 06 May 2024
  • Revise Date: 25 June 2024
  • Accept Date: 26 June 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics