Facile synthesis of carbon self-doped g-C3N4 for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is an appealing metal-free photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution, but the potential has been limited by its poor visible-light absorption and unsatisfactory separation of photo-induced carriers. Herein, a facile one-pot strategy to fabricate carbon self-doped g-C₃N₄ composite through the calcination of dicyanamide and trace amounts of dimethylformamide is presented. The as-obtained carbon self-doped catalyst is investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), confirming the substitution of carbon atoms in original sites of bridging nitrogen. We demonstrate that the as-prepared materials display remarkably improved visible-light absorption and optimized electronic structure under the premise of principally maintaining the tri-s-triazine based crystal framework and surface properties. Furthermore, the carbon doped g-C₃N₄ composite simultaneously weakens the transportation barrier of charge carriers, suppresses charge recombination and raises the separated efficiency of photoinduced holes and electrons on account of the extension of pi conjugated system. As a result, carbon self-doped g-C₃N₄ exhibits 4.3 times greater photocurrent density and 5.2 times higher hydrogen evolution rate compared with its bulk counterpart under visible light irradiation.     

A study of semiconducting properties of hydrogen containing passive films

Mott–Schottky and photoelectrochemical measurements were used to explore the effects of hydrogen and chloride ions on the electronic properties of the passive film on X70 micro-alloyed steel in a solution of 0.5 M NaHCO₃. Mott–Schottky analyses have shown that hydrogen increases the capacitance and donor density, and decreases the flat band potential and the space charge layer thickness of the passive film. The photocurrent of the film is remarkably increased by hydrogen. The effects of hydrogen become more pronounced with an increase in the hydrogen charging current densities. Hydrogen has no noticeable effect on the band gap energy E_g and the process by which hole-electron pairs are photo-generated in the film. The presence of chloride ions in the solution produces some similar effects on the electronic properties of the passive film to those observed with hydrogen, but reduces the photocurrent and increases the band gap energy of the film. No significant synergistic effects on the electronic properties of the passive film were observed in the presence of hydrogen and Cl⁻. These results provide very useful information for elucidating the mechanism by which hydrogen changes the properties of passive film and then promotes localized corrosion.     

Analytic computation of the photocurrent density in a n-6H-SiC/p-Si/n-Si/p-Si0.8Ge0.2 multilayer solar cell

In this work we conceived a model of a multilayer solar cell composed by four layers of opposite conductivities: an n-type 6H-SiC used as a frontal layer to absorb high energy photons (energy gap equals 2.9 eV), a p-type Si layer, an n-type Si layer and a p-type SiGe back layer to absorb low energy photons (Si_0.8Ge_0.2 with an energy gap equal to 0.8 eV). The impurity concentration in every layer of the model is taken equal to 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ to ensure abrupt junctions inside the cell. The optical properties of the separate layers have been fitted and tabulated to be used for thin films devices numerical simulation. We developed the equations giving the minority carrier concentration and the photocurrent density in each abscissa of the model. We used Matlab software to simulate and optimize the layers thicknesses to achieve the maximum photocurrent generated under AM0 solar spectrum. The results of simulation showed that the optimized structure could deliver, assuming 10⁵ cm/s surface recombination velocity, a photocurrent density of more than 53 mA/cm², which represents 88.3% of the ideal photocurrent (59.99 mA/cm²) that can be generated under AM0 solar spectrum.     

Photoelectric conversion of photosynthetic reaction center in multilayered films fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly

Multilayered protein films which contained ordered layers of photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from Rhodobacter Sphaeroides (RS601) were assembled by means of alternate electrostatic adsorption with positively charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). The assembly of RC was monitored by spectrometry and photocurrent measurement. Linear film growth was observed up to about 20 cycles of adsorption. For the monolayer film, the photocurrent was about 8.5 nA cm⁻². For the multilayered film, the total photocurrent was about 77 nA cm⁻² for the 24-layer RC film, while the average photocurrent increment per adsorption cycle was about 3.2 nA cm⁻². The overall light-to-electricity conversion efficiency for a 24-layer film was about eight times higher than that for the monolayer one. The effects of electrode potential and pH on the photocurrent were also measured to illustrate the light-to-electric converting mechanism.     

钛钼合金电极在酸性介质中的电化学研究

采用交流阻抗和光电化学等测量方法研究了钛钼合金电极在0.2mol.L-1硫酸和0.2mol.L-1盐酸溶液中的电化学行为。交流阻抗测试结果表明,随着形成钝化膜的极化电位的增加,合金电极的阻抗增大,Mo在合金中的含量达到20%时,电极的阻抗模值|Z|0.05达到最大值;光电流循环伏安测量结果表明合金电极在阳极极化过程中显示阳极光电流,光电流iph随阳极极化电位增大而增加,表明电极表面膜呈n型半导体性质。     

镍阳极氧化膜形成和破坏过程的光电化学响应

测定了镍表面阳极氧化膜在ｐＨ＝８．４硼砂－硼酸缓冲溶液中不同电位下的光电流响应。基于阻抗测量结果的计算表明，钝化膜的平带电位和载流子密度分别为－０．６８Ｖ和１．３×１０（２０）ｃｍ（－３）。对钝化膜和高价氧化膜在形成、生长和破坏过程中的光电流变化进行了现场监测。     

Multifunctional π-conjugated poly (3-methylthiophene) nanotubes for optoelectronic and field emissive devices

Multifunctional properties of nanomaterials becomes a hot topic in nano research for the development of multifunctional devices, because modern devices need multifunctional platform for the high efficient plural performance on a single device. Here, we introduce a multifunctional π-conjugated poly (3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) nanotube (NT), showing controllable optical and electrical properties through the control of doping level. P3MT NTs were electrochemically synthesized in the low temperature (−40 °C) on the nanoporous template. The change of doping level by post cyclic voltammetry (CV) treatment on the P3MT lead the variance of polaron/bipolaron band, resulting into the drastic change of ultraviolet-visible absorption and photoluminescence properties. While P3MT NTs before CV treatment show an ohmic behavior in the current-voltage characteristics, those after CV treatment show high photocurrent. From the field emission experiment, the P3MT NTs before CV treatment have a relatively low turn-on electric field and stable electron emission property compared to the P3MT NTs after CV treatment. This shows that the π-conjugated polymers should be shed new light on their multifunctionality for the potential application to the multifunctional platform of opto-electronic nanodevices.     

Highly efficient hematite films via mid-/ex-situ Sn-doping for photoelectrochemical water oxidation

In this study, we report the facile fabrication of Sn-doped hematite film via mid-situ and ex-situ doping methods for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances. The morphology of Sn-doped Fe₂O₃ films was varied with Sn precursor in the mid-situ doping process. The addition of SnCl₂ rendered a smooth-surfaced and well-distributed nanorod morphology, but SnCl₄ gave a deformed nanorod structure covered with layered coalescence of SnO₂ particles. The former demonstrated much higher photoelectrochemical performances as photoanodes than the latter. The photocurrent can be further improved by surface modification with SnCl₄ through spin-coating method. The effects of Sn precursors on the morphology, surface characteristics and the PEC properties of the photoanodes are investigated.     

Enhanced electrical and photocurrent characteristics of sol-gel derived Ni-doped PbTiO3 thin films

Partial substitution of group 10 metal for titanium is predicted theoretically to be one of the most effective ways to decrease the band gap of PbTiO₃-based ferroelectric photovoltaic materials. It is therefore of interest to experimentally investigate their ferroelectric and photovoltaic properties. In this work, we focus on the electrical and photocurrent properties of Ni-doped PbTiO₃ thin films prepared via a sol-gel route. The nickel incorporation does not modify the crystalline structure of PbTiO₃ thin film, but it can increase the dielectric constant, ferroelectric polarization and photocurrent, and simultaneously decrease the band gap. The maximum remnant polarization (P_r) of 58.1 μC/cm² is observed in PbTi_0.8Ni_0.2O₃ thin film, and its photocurrent density is improved to be approximately one order larger than that of PbTiO₃ thin film and simultaneously exhibits the polarization-dependent switching characteristic, which may be a promising choice for ferroelectric photovoltaic applications.     

Nitrogen-doped graphene-supported zinc sulfide nanorods as efficient Pt-free for visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Nitrogen-doped graphene-ZnS composite (NG-ZnS) was synthesized by thermal treatment of graphene-ZnS composite (G-ZnS) in NH₃ medium. In the second step, the as-synthesized samples were deposited on indium tin oxide glass (ITO) by electrophoretic deposition for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. The as-prepared NG-ZnS-modified ITO electrode displayed excellent photocatalytic activity, rapid transient photocurrent response, superior stability and high recyclability compared to the pure ZnS and G-ZnS-modified ITO electrode due to the synergy between the photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanorods and the large surface area and high conductivity of N-graphene.