Sains Malaysiana 49(12)(2020): 3209-3217

http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2020-4912-32

Electrodeposited WO₃/Au Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Reactions

(Pengelektroendapan Fotoanod WO₃/Au untuk Tindak Balas Fotoelektrokimia)

LORNA JEFFERY MINGGU*, NURUL AKMAL JAAFAR, KIM HANG NG, KHUZAIMAH ARIFIN & ROZAN MOHAMAD YUNUS

Fuel Cell Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 17 August 2020/Accepted: 11 September 2020

ABSTRACT

This work aims to study the effect of gold (Au) loading on the photoelectrochemical behavior of tungsten trioxide (WO₃) photoelectrodes. The WO₃ film has been fabricated via electrodeposition method with constant potential on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate. The Au nanoparticle loading on WO₃ films surface was also prepared by constant potential electrodeposition. Due to the small amount of Au loading, the band gap values of the plasmonized WO₃ remained around 2.6 eV. However, during the photoelectrochemical analysis, the photoactivity of the plasmonized WO₃ photoelectrodes improved >100% with a minimal amount of Au loading compared to the pristine WO₃. The photocurrent generation was further enhanced with the presence of organic donors (methanol and formic acid). The photocurrent achieved 3.74 mA/cm² when 1.0 M of formic acid was added. Plausible charge transfer mechanism was suggested.

Keywords: Au nanoparticles; electrodeposition; photoelectrochemical; waste degradation; WO₃ films

ABSTRAK

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menguji kesan muatan aurum (Au) terhadap perilaku fotoelektrokimia fotoelektrod tungsten trioksida (WO₃). Filem WO₃ telah dihasilkan melalui kaedah elektroendapan potensi malar ke atas kaca bersalut timah oksida terdop florin (FTO). Nanopartikel Au dimendapkan ke atas permukaan filem WO₃ dengan kaedah elektroendapan potensi malar. Jurang tenaga WO₃ berplasmon kekal sekitar 2.6 eV disebabkan muatan Au yang sangat kecil. Namun begitu, semasa analisis fotoelektrokimia, fotoaktiviti fotoelektrod WO₃ berplasmon telah meningkat >100% dengan muatan Au yang minimum berbanding WO₃ tulen. Penjanaan fotoarus telah ditingkatkan lagi dengan penambahan penderma organik (metanol dan asid formik). Fotoarus telah mencapai 3.74 mA/cm² apabila 1.0 M asid formik ditambahkan. Mekanisma pemindahan cas yang munasabah juga dicadangkan.

Kata kunci: Elektroendapan; filem WO₃; fotoelektrokimia; nanopartikel Au; penguraian sisa

REFERENCES

Alenzi, N., Liao, W.S., Cremer, P.S., Sanchez-Torres, V., Wood, T.K., Ehlig-Economides, C. & Cheng, Z. 2010. Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production from water/methanol decomposition using Ag/TiO₂ nanocomposite thin films. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35(21): 11768-11775.

Amer, M.S., Arunachalam, P., Al-Mayouf, A.M., Prasad, S., Alshalwi, M.N. & Ghanem, M.A. 2019. Mesoporous tungsten trioxide photoanodes modified with nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots for enhanced oxygen evolution photo-reaction. Nanomaterials 9(10): 1502.

Aslam, M., Ismail, I.M.I., Chandrasekaran, S. & Hameed, A. 2014. Morphology controlled bulk synthesis of disc-shaped WO₃ powder and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity for the degradation of phenols. Journal Hazardous Materials 276: 120-128.

Chakrapani, V., Thangala, J. & Sunkara, M.K. 2009. WO₃ and W₂N nanowire arrays for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 34(22): 9050-9059.

Chen, L., Tian, L., Zhao, X., Hu, Z., Fan, J. & Lv, K. 2020a. SPR effect of Au nanoparticles on the visible photocatalytic RhB degradation and NO oxidation over TiO2 hollow nanoboxes. Arabian Journal of Chemistry 13(2): 4404-4416.

Chen, Y., Feng, X., Liu, Y. Guan, X., Burda, C. & Guo, L. 2020b. Metal oxide-based tandem cells for self-biased photoelectrochemical water splitting. ACS Energy Letters 5(3): 844-866.

Cheng, Y. 2015. Advances in electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction of water electrolysis-from metal oxides to carbon nanotubes. Progress in Natural Science: Materials International 25(6): 545-553.

Fujishima, A. & Honda, K. 1972. Electrochemical photolysis of water at a semiconductor electrode. Nature 238(5358): 37-38.

Han, S., Li, J., Chen, X., Huang, Y., Liu, C., Yang, Y. & Li, W. 2012. Enhancing photoelectrochemical activity of nanocrystalline WO₃ electrodes by surface tuning with Fe(III). International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 37(22): 16810-16816.

Haro, M., Abargues, R., Herraiz-Cardona, I., Martínez-Pastor, J. & Giménez, S. 2014. Plasmonic versus catalytic effect of gold nanoparticles on mesoporous TiO₂ electrodes for water splitting. Electrochimica Acta 144: 64-70.

Hong, S.J., Lee, S., Jang, J.S. & Lee, J.S. 2011. Heterojunction BiVO₄/WO₃ electrodes for enhanced photoactivity of water oxidation. Energy & Environmental Science 4(5): 1781-1787.

Hu, D., Diao, P., Xu, D. & Wu, Q. 2016. Gold/WO₃ nanocomposite photoanodes for plasmonic solar water splitting. Nano Research 9(6): 1735-1751.

Jana, S.K., Majumder, T. & Banerjee, S. 2014. Enhanced photoelectrochemical property of gold nanoparticle sensitized TiO₂ nanotube: A crucial investigation at electrode–electrolyte interface. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 727: 99-103.

Johansson, M.B., Niklasson, G.A. & Österlund, L. 2012. Structural and optical properties of visible active photocatalytic WO₃ thin films prepared by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. Journal of Materials Research 27(24): 3130-3140.

Jun, J., Ju, S., Moon, S., Son, S., Huh, D., Liu, Y., Kim, K. & Lee, H. 2020. The optimization of surface morphology of Au nanoparticles on WO₃ nanoflakes for plasmonic photoanode. Nanotechnology 31(20): 204003.

Kim, M.H., Kim, C.S., Lee, H.W. & Kim, K. 1996. Temperature dependence of dissociation constants for formic acid and 2,6-dinitrophenol in aqueous solutions up to 175 °C. Journal of the Chemical Society, Faraday Transactions 92(24): 4951-4956.

Kwong, W.L., Savvides, N. & Sorrell, C.C. 2012. Electrodeposited nanostructured WO₃ thin films for photoelectrochemical applications. Electrochimica Acta 75: 371-380.

Lee, J.Y. & Jo, W.K. 2016. Heterojunction-based two-dimensional N-doped TiO₂/WO₃ composite architectures for photocatalytic treatment of hazardous organic vapor. Journal Hazardous Materials 314: 22-31.

Li, J. & Wu, N. 2015. Semiconductor-based photocatalysts and photoelectrochemical cells for solar fuel generation: A review. Catalysis Science & Technology 5(3): 1360-1384.

Li, Y., Yu, H., Zhang, C., Fu, L., Li, G., Shao, Z. & Yi, B. 2013a. Enhancement of photoelectrochemical response by Au modified in TiO₂ nanorods. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 38(29): 13023-13030.

Li, Z., Luo, W., Zhang, M., Feng, J. & Zou, Z. 2013b. Photoelectrochemical cells for solar hydrogen production: Current state of promising photoelectrodes, methods to improve their properties, and outlook. Energy & Environmental Science 6(2): 347-370.

Lianos, P. 2011. Production of electricity and hydrogen by photocatalytic degradation of organic wastes in a photoelectrochemical cell: the concept of the photofuelcell: A review of a re-emerging research field. Journal Hazardous Materials 185(2-3): 575-590.

Lui, Y., Chang, Y.S., Hsu, Y.J., Hwang, B.J. & Hsueh, C.H. 2019. Fabrication of WO₃ photoanode decorated with Au nanoplates and its enhanced photoelectrochemical properties. Electrochimica Acta 321: 134674.

Mi, Y., Wen, L., Xu, R., Wang, Z., Cao, D., Fang, Y. & Lei, Y. 2016. Constructing a AZO/TiO2 core/shell nanocone array with uniformly dispersed Au NPs for enhancing photoelectrochemical water splitting. Advanced Energy Materials 6(1): 1501496.

Minggu, L.J., Daud, W.R.W. & Kassim, M.B. 2010. An overview of photocells and photoreactors for photoelectrochemical water splitting. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 35(11): 5233-5244.

Minggu, L.J., Ng, K.H., Kadir, H.A. & Kassim, M.B. 2014. Bilayer n-WO₃/p-Cu₂O photoelectrode with photocurrent enhancement in aqueous electrolyte photoelectrochemical reaction. Ceramics International 40(10): 16015-16021.

Ng, K.H., Minggu, L.J., Jaafar, N.A. & Kassim, M.B. 2018. Plasmonic resonance effect of aurum on photoelectrochemical performance of Cu₂O photocathode. Sains Malaysiana 47(7): 1511-1516.

Ng, K.H., Minggu, L.J., Jaafar, N.A., Arifin, K. & Kassim, M.B. 2017. Enhanced plasmonic photoelectrochemical response of Au sandwiched WO₃ photoanodes. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 172: 361-367.

Ng, K.H., Minggu, L.J. & Kassim, M.B. 2013. Gallium-doped tungsten trioxide thin film photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 38(22): 9585-9591.

Nishanthi, S.T., Iyyapushpam, S., Sundarakannan, B., Subramanian, E. & Padiyan, D.P. 2015. Plasmonic silver nanoparticles loaded titania nanotube arrays exhibiting enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities. Journal of Power Sources 274: 885-893.

Oros-Ruiz, S., Zanella, R., López, R., Hernández-Gordillo, A. & Gómez, R. 2013. Photocatalytic hydrogen production by water/methanol decomposition using Au/TiO₂ prepared by deposition-precipitation with urea. Journal Hazardous Materials 263: 2-10.

Peerakiatkhajohn, P., Butburee, T., Yun, J.H., Chen, H., Richards, R.M. & Wang, L. 2015. A hybrid photoelectrode with plasmonic Au@TiO₂ nanoparticles for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 3(40): 20127-20133.

Rao, P.M., Cai, L., Liu, C., Cho, I.S., Lee, C.H., Weisse, J.M., Yang, P. & Zheng, X. 2014. Simultaneously efficient light absorption and charge separation in WO₃/BiVO₄ core/shell nanowire photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Nano Letters 14(2): 1099-1105.

Raptis, D., Dracopoulos, V. & Lianos, P. 2017. Renewable energy production by photoelectrochemical oxidation of organic wastes using WO₃ photoanodes. Journal of Hazardous Materials 333: 259-264.

Sheng, C., Wang, C., Wang, H., Jin, C., Sun, Q. & Li, S. 2017. Self-photodegradation of formaldehyde under visible-light by solid wood modified via nanostructured Fe-doped WO₃ accompanied with superior dimensional stability. Journal Hazardous Materials 328: 127-139.

Tee, S.Y., Win, K.Y., Teo, W.S., Koh, L.D., Liu, S., Teng, C.P. & Han, M.Y. 2017. Recent progress in energy-driven water splitting. Advanced Science 4(5): 1600337.

Verma, A., Srivastav, A., Banerjee, A., Sharma, D., Sharma, S., Singh, U.B., Satsangi, V.R., Shrivastav, R., Avasthi, D.K. & Dass, S. 2013. Plasmonic layer enhanced photoelectrochemical response of Fe₂O₃ photoanodes. Journal of Power Sources 315: 152-160.

Verma, P., Kuwahara, Y., Mori, K. & Yamashita, H. 2016. Pd/Ag and Pd/Au bimetallic nanocatalysts on mesoporous silica for plasmon-mediated enhanced catalytic activity under visible light irradiation.  Journal of Materials Chemistry A 4(26): 10142-10150.

Wang, Y., Chen, K.S., Mishler, J., Cho, S.C. & Adroher, X.C. 2011. A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications, and needs on fundamental research.  Applied Energy 88(4): 981-1007.

Yan, J., Wu, H., Li, P., Chen, H., Jiang, R. & Liu, S.F. 2017. Fe(III) doped NiS₂ nanosheet: A highly efficient and low-cost hydrogen evolution catalyst. Journal of Materials Chemistry A 5(21): 10173-10181.

Yang, Y., Xie, R., Liu, Y., Li, J. & Li, W. 2015. Effect of surface passivation on photoelectrochemical water splitting performance of WO₃ vertical plate-like films. Catalysts 5(4): 2024-2038.

Ye, W., Long, R., Huang, H. & Xiong, Y. 2017. Plasmonic nanostructures in solar energy conversion. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 5(50): 1008-1021.

Zhang, L., Herrmann, L.O. & Baumberg, J.J. 2015. Size dependent plasmonic effect on BiVO₄ photoanodes for solar water splitting. Scientific Reports 5: 16660.

Zhang, L., Lin, C.Y., Valev, V.K., Reisner, E., Steiner, U. & Baumberg, J.J. 2014. Plasmonic enhancement in BiVO₄ photonic crystals for efficient water splitting. Small 10(19): 3970-3978.

Zhang, X. & Tang, A. 2012. Novel CuO/TiO₂ nanocomposite films with a graded band gap for visible light irradiation. Materials Express 2(3): 238-244.

Zhang, Z., Yuan, Y., Fang, Y., Liang, L., Ding, H., Shi, G. & Jin, L. 2007. Photoelectrochemical oxidation behavior of methanol on highly ordered TiO₂ nanotube array electrodes. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry 610(2): 179-185.

Zhang, X., Lu, X., Shen, Y., Han, J., Yuan, L., Gong, L., Xu, Z., Bai, X., Wei, M., Tong, Y., Gao, Y., Chen, J., Zhou, J. & Wang, Z.L. 2011. Three-dimensional WO₃ nanostructures on carbon paper: Photoelectrochemical property and visible light driven photocatalysis. Chemical Communications 47(20): 5804-5806.

Zhu, J., Li, W., Li, J., Li, Y., Hu, H. & Yang, Y. 2013. Photoelectrochemical activity of NiWO₄/ WO₃ heterojunction photoanode under visible light irradiation. Electrochimica Acta 112: 191-198.

Zhu, L., Gamez, G., Chen, H., Chingin, K. & Zenobi, R. 2009. Rapid detection of melamine in untreated milk and wheat gluten by ultrasound-assisted extractive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (EESI-MS). Chemical Communications 5: 559-561.

Zhu, W., Liu, J., Yu, S., Zhou, Y. & Yan, X. 2016. Ag loaded WO₃ nanoplates for efficient photocatalytic degradation of sulfanilamide and their bactericidal effect under visible light irradiation. Journal Hazardous Materials 318: 407-416.

*Corresponding author; email: lorna_jm@ukm.edu.my