Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights
The development of efficient and novel p-n heterojunctions for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is still a challenging problem. We have demonstrated the complementary nature of (p-type) BiSbS<sub>3</sub> as a sensitizer when coupled with (n-type) TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| author | Bhagatram Meena Mohit Kumar Arun Kumar Gudipati Neeraja Sinha Rameshbabu Nagumothu Palyam Subramanyam Duvvuri Suryakala Challapalli Subrahmanyam |
| author_facet | Bhagatram Meena Mohit Kumar Arun Kumar Gudipati Neeraja Sinha Rameshbabu Nagumothu Palyam Subramanyam Duvvuri Suryakala Challapalli Subrahmanyam |
| author_sort | Bhagatram Meena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of efficient and novel p-n heterojunctions for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is still a challenging problem. We have demonstrated the complementary nature of (p-type) BiSbS<sub>3</sub> as a sensitizer when coupled with (n-type) TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS to improve the photocatalytic activity and solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency. The as-prepared p-n heterojunction TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> exhibits good visible light harvesting capacity and high charge separation over the binary heterojunction, which are confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The ternary heterojunction produces higher H<sub>2</sub> than the binary systems TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS and TiO<sub>2</sub>/BiSbS<sub>3</sub>. This ternary heterojunction system displayed the highest photocurrent density of 5 mA·cm<sup>−2</sup> at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in neutral conditions, and STH of 3.8% at 0.52 V vs. RHE is observed. The improved photocatalytic response was due to the favorable energy band positions of CdS and BiSbS<sub>3</sub>. This study highlights the p-n junction made up of TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub>, which promises efficient charge formation, separation, and suppression of charge recombination for improved PEC water splitting efficiency. Further, no appreciable loss of activity was observed for the photoanode over 2500 s. Band alignment and interfaces mechanisms have been studied as well. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-423a4d7b0a2a44038c3f7e2c947dc7f72023-11-23T23:23:53ZengMDPI AGCatalysts2073-43442022-09-011210111710.3390/catal12101117Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic InsightsBhagatram Meena0Mohit Kumar1Arun Kumar2Gudipati Neeraja Sinha3Rameshbabu Nagumothu4Palyam Subramanyam5Duvvuri Suryakala6Challapalli Subrahmanyam7Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, Telangana, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, Telangana, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, Telangana, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, Telangana, IndiaDepartment of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli 620015, Tamil Nadu, IndiaResearch Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0020, Hokkaido, JapanDepartment of Chemistry, GITAM University, Visakhapatnam 530045, Andhra Pradesh, IndiaDepartment of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Hyderabad 502285, Telangana, IndiaThe development of efficient and novel p-n heterojunctions for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is still a challenging problem. We have demonstrated the complementary nature of (p-type) BiSbS<sub>3</sub> as a sensitizer when coupled with (n-type) TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS to improve the photocatalytic activity and solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency. The as-prepared p-n heterojunction TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> exhibits good visible light harvesting capacity and high charge separation over the binary heterojunction, which are confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The ternary heterojunction produces higher H<sub>2</sub> than the binary systems TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS and TiO<sub>2</sub>/BiSbS<sub>3</sub>. This ternary heterojunction system displayed the highest photocurrent density of 5 mA·cm<sup>−2</sup> at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in neutral conditions, and STH of 3.8% at 0.52 V vs. RHE is observed. The improved photocatalytic response was due to the favorable energy band positions of CdS and BiSbS<sub>3</sub>. This study highlights the p-n junction made up of TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub>, which promises efficient charge formation, separation, and suppression of charge recombination for improved PEC water splitting efficiency. Further, no appreciable loss of activity was observed for the photoanode over 2500 s. Band alignment and interfaces mechanisms have been studied as well.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/12/10/1117solar water splittingphotoanodeternary hybridBiSbS<sub>3</sub>nanospheresp-n junction |
| spellingShingle | Bhagatram Meena Mohit Kumar Arun Kumar Gudipati Neeraja Sinha Rameshbabu Nagumothu Palyam Subramanyam Duvvuri Suryakala Challapalli Subrahmanyam Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights Catalysts solar water splitting photoanode ternary hybrid BiSbS<sub>3</sub> nanospheres p-n junction |
| title | Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights |
| title_full | Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights |
| title_fullStr | Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights |
| title_full_unstemmed | Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights |
| title_short | Integrated p-n Junctions for Efficient Solar Water Splitting upon TiO<sub>2</sub>/CdS/BiSbS<sub>3</sub> Ternary Hybrids for Improved Hydrogen Evolution and Mechanistic Insights |
| title_sort | integrated p n junctions for efficient solar water splitting upon tio sub 2 sub cds bisbs sub 3 sub ternary hybrids for improved hydrogen evolution and mechanistic insights |
| topic | solar water splitting photoanode ternary hybrid BiSbS<sub>3</sub> nanospheres p-n junction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/12/10/1117 |
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