Enhancing deep visible-light photoelectrocatalysis with a single solid-state synthesis: Carbon nitride/TiO2 heterointerface
Visible-light responsive, stable, and abundant absorbers are required for the rapid integration of green, clean, and renewable technologies in a circular economy. Photoactive solid-solid heterojunctions enable multiple charge pathways, inhibiting recombination through efficient charge transfer across the interface. This study spotlights the physico-chemical synergy between titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) anatase and carbon nitride (CN) to form a hybrid material. The CN(10%)-TiO<sub>2</sub>(90%) hybrid outperforms TiO<sub>2</sub> and CN references and literature homologs in four photo and photoelectrocatalytic reactions. CN-TiO<sub>2</sub> achieved a four-fold increase in benzylamine conversion, with photooxidation conversion rates of 51, 97, and 100 % at 625, 535, and 465 nm, respectively. The associated energy transfer mechanism was elucidated. In photoelectrochemistry, CN-TiO<sub>2</sub> exhibited 23 % photoactivity of the full-spectrum measurement when using a 410 nm filter. Our findings demonstrate that CN-TiO<sub>2</sub> displayed a band gap of 2.9 eV, evidencing TiO<sub>2</sub> photosensitization attributed to enhanced charge transfer at the heterointerface boundaries via staggered heterojunction type II.
Authors
- Christoph Josef Brabec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9440-0253)
- Julien Bachmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6480-6212)
- Nikolai V. Tkachenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8504-2335)
- Bolortuya Badamdorj
- Camilo Arturo Mesa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8450-2563)
- Ingrid F. Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3607-7256)
- Miguel Ángel Muñoz‐Márquez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5351-828X)
- Albert These (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6058-1191)
- Nadezda V. Tarakina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2365-861X)
- Emiliano Cortés (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8248-4165)
- Sixto Giménez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3174)
- Pablo Jiménez‐Calvo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9826-6995)
- Robert G. Palgrave (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4522-2486)
- Carolina Pulignani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0190-9542)
- Alexey Galushchinskiy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1527-4093)
- Ivo Žižak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5959-0995)
- Ernesto Scoppola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6390-052X)
- Ivo F. Texeira
- Jokotadeola Odutola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4557-5011)
- Mark A. Isaacs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0335-4272)
- Aleksandr Savateev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5760-6033)
Institutions
- Universitat Jaume I (ES)
- Università di Camerino (IT)
- Tampere University (FI)
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (DE)
- Research Complex at Harwell (GB)
- Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE)
- University College London (GB)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
- Published
- 2024-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.09.028
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.61
Funders
- Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Generalitat Valenciana
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Universitat Jaume I
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions