An Ion-Exchange Phase Transformation to ZnGa sub(2)O sub(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
Subjects:
Carbon dioxide
Hole mobility
Morphology
Nanocomposites
Nanomaterials
Nanostructure
Photochemistry
Semiconductors
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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 sub(2)O sub(4) nanocubes with exposed {100} facets are synthesized by an hydrothermal ion-exchange route without requiring the introduction of morphology controlling agents. These ZnGa sub(2)O sub(4) nanocubes exhibit improved performance in the photoreduction of CO sub(2) into CH sub(4) or water splitting into hydrogen. Theoretical calculations indicates that the light-hole effective mass on the {100} facets of ZnGa sub(2)O sub(4) corresponds to the high hole mobility, which contributes to the efficient water oxidation to offer the protons for promoting CO sub(2) photoreduction into hydrocarbon fuels. ZnGa sub(2)O sub(4) nanocubes with exposed {100} facets are synthesized by a hydrothermal ion-exchange reaction using GaOOH precursor nanoplates via a single-crystal to single-crystal phase transformation. The high hole mobility on the {100} facets of the ZnGa sub(2)O sub(4) nanocube promotes the water oxidation process, thus improving the performance in CO sub(2) photoreduction to CH sub(4).
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.201202042