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Role of Short-Range Chemical Ordering in (GaN)1–x(ZnO)x for Photodriven Oxygen Evolution

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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(GaN)1–x(ZnO)x (GZNO) is capable of visible-light driven water splitting, but its bandgap at x ≤ 0.15 (>2.7 eV) results in poor visible-light absorption. Unfortunately, methods to narrow its bandgap by incorporating higher ZnO concentrations are accompanied by extensive Urbach tailing near the absorption-edge, which is indicative of structural disorder or chemical inhomogeneities. We evaluated whether this disorder is intrinsic to the bond-length distribution in GZNO or is a result of defects introduced from the loss of Zn during nitridation. Here, the synthesis of GZNO derived from layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors is described which minimizes Zn loss and chemical inhomogeneities and enhances visible-light absorption. The average and local atomic structures of LDH-derived GZNO were investigated using X-ray and neutron scattering and are correlated with their oxygen evolution rates. An isotope-contrasted neutron-scattering experiment was conducted in conjunction with reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulations. We showed that a bond-valence bias in the RMC refinements reproduces the short-range ordering (SRO) observed in structure refinements using isotope-contrasted neutron data. The findings suggest that positional disorder of cation–anion pairs in GZNO partially arises from SRO and influences local bond relaxations. Furthermore, particle-based oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) in AgNO3 solution reveal that the crystallite size of GZNO correlates more than positional disorder with oxygen evolution rate. In conclusion, these findings illustrate the importance of examining the local structure of multinary photocatalysts to identify dominant factors in particulate-based photodriven oxygen evolution.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS); Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Office of Workforce Development for Teachers & Scientists (WDTS)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; AC05-00OR22725; SC0014664
OSTI ID:
1376368
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1376257
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Journal Name: Chemistry of Materials Journal Issue: 15 Vol. 29; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Crystal structure
Diseases and disorders
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Oxides
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