skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Noble metal free photocatalytic H2 generation on black TiO2: On the influence of crystal facets vs. crystal damage

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4976010· OSTI ID:1353174
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany). Inst. for Surface Science and Corrosion (LKO), Dept. of Materials Science WW-4
  2. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), Materials Science Division
  3. Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany). Inst. for Surface Science and Corrosion (LKO), Dept. of Materials Sciences 6
  4. Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany). Inst. for Surface Science and Corrosion (LKO), Dept. of Materials Science WW-4; Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany). Inst. of Biomaterials
  5. Univ. of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany). Inst. for Surface Science and Corrosion (LKO), Dept. of Materials Science WW-4; King Abdulaziz Univ., Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). Dept. of Chemistry
+ Show Author Affiliations

In this study, we investigate noble metal free photocatalytic water splitting on natural anatase single crystal facets and on wafer slices of the [001] plane before and after these surfaces have been modified by high pressure hydrogenation and hydrogen ion-implantation. Here, we find that on the natural, intact low index planes, photocatalytic H2 evolution (in the absence of a noble metal co-catalyst) can only be achieved when the hydrogenation treatment is accompanied by the introduction of crystal damage, such as simple scratching and miscut in the crystal, or by implantation damage. X-ray reflectivity, Raman, and optical reflection measurements show that plain hydrogenation leads to a ≈ 1 nm thick black titania surface layer without activity, while a colorless, density modified, and ≈7 nm thick layer with broken crystal symmetry is present on the ion implanted surface. These results demonstrate that (i) the H-treatment of an intact anatase surface needs to be combined with defect formation for catalytic activation and (ii) activation does not necessarily coincide with the presence of black color.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1353174
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 110, Issue 7; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 19 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (14)

Enhancing Visible Light Photo-oxidation of Water with TiO 2 Nanowire Arrays via Cotreatment with H 2 and NH 3 : Synergistic Effects between Ti 3+ and N journal February 2012
Elements of Modern X-ray Physics book March 2011
Increasing Solar Absorption for Photocatalysis with Black Hydrogenated Titanium Dioxide Nanocrystals journal January 2011
Hydrogenated titania: synergy of surface modification and morphology improvement for enhanced photocatalytic activity journal January 2012
Hydrogen-Treated TiO 2 Nanowire Arrays for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting journal July 2011
Black TiO 2 Nanotubes: Cocatalyst-Free Open-Circuit Hydrogen Generation journal May 2014
Low-Voltage Self-Assembled Monolayer Field-Effect Transistors on Flexible Substrates journal June 2013
Effect of Nature and Location of Defects on Bandgap Narrowing in Black TiO 2 Nanoparticles journal April 2012
The Application of a Small-Molecule-Based Ternary Memory Device in Transient Thermal-Probing Electronics journal November 2016
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study of a Vicinal Anatase TiO 2 Surface journal September 2008
The surface science of titanium dioxide journal January 2003
“Black” TiO 2 Nanotubes Formed by High-Energy Proton Implantation Show Noble-Metal- co -Catalyst Free Photocatalytic H 2 -Evolution journal September 2015
Hydrogenated Anatase: Strong Photocatalytic Dihydrogen Evolution without the Use of a Co-Catalyst journal October 2014
Raman Spectroscopy: A New Approach to Measure the Percentage of Anatase TiO 2 Exposed (001) Facets journal March 2012

Cited By (2)

Recent Advances in the Use of Black TiO 2 for Production of Hydrogen and Other Solar Fuels journal February 2019
Photocatalysis with Reduced TiO 2 : From Black TiO 2 to Cocatalyst-Free Hydrogen Production journal November 2018

Similar Records

Synthesis and peferentially loading of nickel nanoparticle on CdS surface and its photocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution under visible light
Journal Article · Mon Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Materials Research Bulletin · OSTI ID:1353174
+2 more
Preparation and characterization of mesoporous N-doped and sulfuric acid treated anatase TiO{sub 2} catalysts and their photocatalytic activity under UV and Vis illumination
Journal Article · Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Solid State Chemistry · OSTI ID:1353174
+4 more
Nitrogen-modified nano-titania: True phase composition, microstructure and visible-light induced photocatalytic NO{sub x} abatement
Journal Article · Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Solid State Chemistry · OSTI ID:1353174
+3 more

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Ion implantation
Electron densities of states
Crystal defects
Single crystals
High pressure