Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Substoichiometric Colloidal WO3- x Nanowires

Taejong Paik; Matteo Cargnello; Thomas R. Gordon; Sen Zhang; Hongseok Yun; Jennifer D. Lee; Ho Young Woo; Soong Ju Oh; Cherie R. Kagan; Paolo Fornasiero; Christopher B. Murray

doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Substoichiometric Colloidal WO_{3- x} Nanowires

Taejong Paik, Matteo Cargnello, Thomas R. Gordon, Sen Zhang, Hongseok Yun, Jennifer D. Lee, Ho Young Woo, Soong Ju Oh, Cherie R. Kagan, Paolo Fornasiero, Christopher B. Murray

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

122 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report direct photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from substoichiometric highly reduced tungsten oxide (WO_x) nanowires (NWs) using sacrificial alcohol. WO_x NWs are synthesized via nonaqueous colloidal synthesis with a diameter of about 4 nm and an average length of about 250 nm. As-synthesized WO_x NWs exhibit a broad absorption across the visible to infrared regions attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The optical band gap is increased in these WO_x NWs compared to stoichiometric bulk tungsten oxide (WO₃) powders as a result of the Burstein-Moss shift. As a consequence of this increase, we demonstrate direct photocatalytic hydrogen production from WO_x NWs through alcohol photoreforming. The stable H₂ evolution on platinized WO_x NWs is observed under conditions in which platinized bulk WO₃ and bulk WO_2.9 powders either do not show activity or show very low rates, suggesting that increased surface area and specific exposed facets are key for the improved performance of WO_x NWs. This work demonstrates that control of size and composition can lead to unexpected and beneficial changes in the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor materials.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1904-1910
Number of pages	7
Journal	ACS Energy Letters
Volume	3
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925
Publication status	Published - 2018 Aug 10

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemistry (miscellaneous)
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Fuel Technology
Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Materials Chemistry

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925

Cite this

@article{2942804b693940d9b9ce9db0743379b7,

title = "Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Substoichiometric Colloidal WO3- x Nanowires",

abstract = "We report direct photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from substoichiometric highly reduced tungsten oxide (WOx) nanowires (NWs) using sacrificial alcohol. WOx NWs are synthesized via nonaqueous colloidal synthesis with a diameter of about 4 nm and an average length of about 250 nm. As-synthesized WOx NWs exhibit a broad absorption across the visible to infrared regions attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The optical band gap is increased in these WOx NWs compared to stoichiometric bulk tungsten oxide (WO3) powders as a result of the Burstein-Moss shift. As a consequence of this increase, we demonstrate direct photocatalytic hydrogen production from WOx NWs through alcohol photoreforming. The stable H2 evolution on platinized WOx NWs is observed under conditions in which platinized bulk WO3 and bulk WO2.9 powders either do not show activity or show very low rates, suggesting that increased surface area and specific exposed facets are key for the improved performance of WOx NWs. This work demonstrates that control of size and composition can lead to unexpected and beneficial changes in the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor materials.",

author = "Taejong Paik and Matteo Cargnello and Gordon, {Thomas R.} and Sen Zhang and Hongseok Yun and Lee, {Jennifer D.} and Woo, {Ho Young} and Oh, {Soong Ju} and Kagan, {Cherie R.} and Paolo Fornasiero and Murray, {Christopher B.}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Award No. ONR-N00014-10-1-0942 for primary support for the synthesis of WOx NWs, surface ligand exchanges, and photocatalytic activity tests. We thank National Science Foundation (NSF) for support under Award No. 1709827 for optical and microscopic characterization. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (No. 2017R1C1B1005236) and by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20182020109430). Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2018 American Chemical Society.",

year = "2018",

month = aug,

day = "10",

doi = "10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925",

language = "English",

volume = "3",

pages = "1904--1910",

journal = "ACS Energy Letters",

issn = "2380-8195",

publisher = "American Chemical Society",

number = "8",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Substoichiometric Colloidal WO3- x Nanowires

AU - Paik, Taejong

AU - Cargnello, Matteo

AU - Gordon, Thomas R.

AU - Zhang, Sen

AU - Yun, Hongseok

AU - Lee, Jennifer D.

AU - Woo, Ho Young

AU - Oh, Soong Ju

AU - Kagan, Cherie R.

AU - Fornasiero, Paolo

AU - Murray, Christopher B.

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Award No. ONR-N00014-10-1-0942 for primary support for the synthesis of WOx NWs, surface ligand exchanges, and photocatalytic activity tests. We thank National Science Foundation (NSF) for support under Award No. 1709827 for optical and microscopic characterization. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (No. 2017R1C1B1005236) and by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20182020109430). Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society.

PY - 2018/8/10

Y1 - 2018/8/10

N2 - We report direct photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from substoichiometric highly reduced tungsten oxide (WOx) nanowires (NWs) using sacrificial alcohol. WOx NWs are synthesized via nonaqueous colloidal synthesis with a diameter of about 4 nm and an average length of about 250 nm. As-synthesized WOx NWs exhibit a broad absorption across the visible to infrared regions attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The optical band gap is increased in these WOx NWs compared to stoichiometric bulk tungsten oxide (WO3) powders as a result of the Burstein-Moss shift. As a consequence of this increase, we demonstrate direct photocatalytic hydrogen production from WOx NWs through alcohol photoreforming. The stable H2 evolution on platinized WOx NWs is observed under conditions in which platinized bulk WO3 and bulk WO2.9 powders either do not show activity or show very low rates, suggesting that increased surface area and specific exposed facets are key for the improved performance of WOx NWs. This work demonstrates that control of size and composition can lead to unexpected and beneficial changes in the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor materials.

AB - We report direct photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from substoichiometric highly reduced tungsten oxide (WOx) nanowires (NWs) using sacrificial alcohol. WOx NWs are synthesized via nonaqueous colloidal synthesis with a diameter of about 4 nm and an average length of about 250 nm. As-synthesized WOx NWs exhibit a broad absorption across the visible to infrared regions attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The optical band gap is increased in these WOx NWs compared to stoichiometric bulk tungsten oxide (WO3) powders as a result of the Burstein-Moss shift. As a consequence of this increase, we demonstrate direct photocatalytic hydrogen production from WOx NWs through alcohol photoreforming. The stable H2 evolution on platinized WOx NWs is observed under conditions in which platinized bulk WO3 and bulk WO2.9 powders either do not show activity or show very low rates, suggesting that increased surface area and specific exposed facets are key for the improved performance of WOx NWs. This work demonstrates that control of size and composition can lead to unexpected and beneficial changes in the photocatalytic properties of semiconductor materials.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85049300708&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925

DO - 10.1021/acsenergylett.8b00925

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85049300708

SN - 2380-8195

VL - 3

SP - 1904

EP - 1910

JO - ACS Energy Letters

JF - ACS Energy Letters

IS - 8

ER -