An Ion‐Exchange Phase Transformation to ZnGa 2 O 4 Nanocube Towards Efficient Solar Fuel Synthesis

To realize practical applications of the photocatalysis technique, it is necessary to synthesize semiconductor photocatalysts with specific facets that induce high reactive activities and high reactive selectivity. However, a challenge lies in the synthesis of metal oxides containing more than one t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2013-02, Vol.23 (6), p.758-763
Main Authors: Yan, Shicheng, Wang, Jiajia, Gao, Honglin, Wang, Nanyan, Yu, He, Li, Zhaosheng, Zhou, Yong, Zou, Zhigang
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:To realize practical applications of the photocatalysis technique, it is necessary to synthesize semiconductor photocatalysts with specific facets that induce high reactive activities and high reactive selectivity. However, a challenge lies in the synthesis of metal oxides containing more than one type of metal with specific facets. Usually, surfactants are used to control the crystal morphology, which induces surface contamination for the final products. Here, using the GaOOH nanoplate as precursor, ZnGa 2 O 4 nanocubes with exposed {100} facets are synthesized by an hydrothermal ion‐exchange route without requiring the introduction of morphology controlling agents. These ZnGa 2 O 4 nanocubes exhibit improved performance in the photoreduction of CO 2 into CH 4 or water splitting into hydrogen. Theoretical calculations indicates that the light‐hole effective mass on the {100} facets of ZnGa 2 O 4 corresponds to the high hole mobility, which contributes to the efficient water oxidation to offer the protons for promoting CO 2 photoreduction into hydrocarbon fuels.
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201202042