Highly-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution enabled by piezotronic effects in SrTiO3/BaTiO3 nanofiber heterojunctions

Mengqu Guo; Jiang Zhong; Wei Li; Huilin Hou; Chris R. Bowen; Xiaoqiang Zhan; Hongli Yang; Man Yang; Zhoujie Chen; Ding Chen; Zhao Liang; Weiyou Yang

doi:10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.109745

Highly-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution enabled by piezotronic effects in SrTiO₃/BaTiO₃ nanofiber heterojunctions

Mengqu Guo, Jiang Zhong, Wei Li, Huilin Hou, Chris R. Bowen, Xiaoqiang Zhan, Hongli Yang, Man Yang, Zhoujie Chen, Ding Chen, Zhao Liang, Weiyou Yang

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

8 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

The synergistic effect between piezoelectric and photocatalytic behaviors presents an interesting avenue to enhance the water-splitting processes for hydrogen production. Through a combination of experimental findings and theoretical calculations, we propose that the piezoelectric field inherent in these materials may decrease the bandgap of piezo-photocatalysts, while the Z-scheme heterojunction structure facilitates electron transfer. Leveraging the synergistic effects of heterojunction formation and piezoelectric assistance, we demonstrate that the incorporated piezoelectric BaTiO₃ significantly enhances the hydrogen evolution rate of hybrid SrTiO₃/BaTiO₃ nanofibers to 1950.2 μmol·g^–1·h^–1. This surpasses the rates achieved by pure SrTiO₃ and BaTiO₃ counterparts by 2.4 and 4.1 times, respectively, and notably exceeds those of perovskite-based piezo-photocatalysts ever reported. The present work offers a valuable pathway for piezoelectric-assisted photocatalytic mechanism insight and sustainable hydrogen production, toward a remarkable advancement in pursuit of efficient and environmentally-friendly energy solutions.

Original language	English
Article number	109745
Journal	Nano Energy
Volume	127
Early online date	15 May 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.109745
Publication status	Published - 31 Aug 2024

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

This work supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant No. 52202061 and 12232004), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2022JJ40068), Science and technology innovation Program of Hunan Province (2023RC1058) and Chongqing Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX0299).

Funders	Funder number
Science and Technology Program of Hunan Province	2023RC1058
Science and Technology Program of Hunan Province
Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province	2022JJ40068
Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province
National Natural Science Foundation of China	52202061, 12232004
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing Municipality	CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX0299
Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing Municipality

Keywords

Band bending
Heterojunctions
Hydrogen production
Piezo-photocatalysis
Water-splitting processes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
General Materials Science
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

UN SDGs

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

Access to Document

10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.109745

Cite this

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title = "Highly-efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution enabled by piezotronic effects in SrTiO3/BaTiO3 nanofiber heterojunctions",

abstract = "The synergistic effect between piezoelectric and photocatalytic behaviors presents an interesting avenue to enhance the water-splitting processes for hydrogen production. Through a combination of experimental findings and theoretical calculations, we propose that the piezoelectric field inherent in these materials may decrease the bandgap of piezo-photocatalysts, while the Z-scheme heterojunction structure facilitates electron transfer. Leveraging the synergistic effects of heterojunction formation and piezoelectric assistance, we demonstrate that the incorporated piezoelectric BaTiO3 significantly enhances the hydrogen evolution rate of hybrid SrTiO3/BaTiO3 nanofibers to 1950.2 μmol·g–1·h–1. This surpasses the rates achieved by pure SrTiO3 and BaTiO3 counterparts by 2.4 and 4.1 times, respectively, and notably exceeds those of perovskite-based piezo-photocatalysts ever reported. The present work offers a valuable pathway for piezoelectric-assisted photocatalytic mechanism insight and sustainable hydrogen production, toward a remarkable advancement in pursuit of efficient and environmentally-friendly energy solutions.",

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AU - Hou, Huilin

AU - Bowen, Chris R.

AU - Zhan, Xiaoqiang

AU - Yang, Hongli

AU - Yang, Man

AU - Chen, Zhoujie

AU - Chen, Ding

AU - Liang, Zhao

AU - Yang, Weiyou

PY - 2024/8/31

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N2 - The synergistic effect between piezoelectric and photocatalytic behaviors presents an interesting avenue to enhance the water-splitting processes for hydrogen production. Through a combination of experimental findings and theoretical calculations, we propose that the piezoelectric field inherent in these materials may decrease the bandgap of piezo-photocatalysts, while the Z-scheme heterojunction structure facilitates electron transfer. Leveraging the synergistic effects of heterojunction formation and piezoelectric assistance, we demonstrate that the incorporated piezoelectric BaTiO3 significantly enhances the hydrogen evolution rate of hybrid SrTiO3/BaTiO3 nanofibers to 1950.2 μmol·g–1·h–1. This surpasses the rates achieved by pure SrTiO3 and BaTiO3 counterparts by 2.4 and 4.1 times, respectively, and notably exceeds those of perovskite-based piezo-photocatalysts ever reported. The present work offers a valuable pathway for piezoelectric-assisted photocatalytic mechanism insight and sustainable hydrogen production, toward a remarkable advancement in pursuit of efficient and environmentally-friendly energy solutions.

AB - The synergistic effect between piezoelectric and photocatalytic behaviors presents an interesting avenue to enhance the water-splitting processes for hydrogen production. Through a combination of experimental findings and theoretical calculations, we propose that the piezoelectric field inherent in these materials may decrease the bandgap of piezo-photocatalysts, while the Z-scheme heterojunction structure facilitates electron transfer. Leveraging the synergistic effects of heterojunction formation and piezoelectric assistance, we demonstrate that the incorporated piezoelectric BaTiO3 significantly enhances the hydrogen evolution rate of hybrid SrTiO3/BaTiO3 nanofibers to 1950.2 μmol·g–1·h–1. This surpasses the rates achieved by pure SrTiO3 and BaTiO3 counterparts by 2.4 and 4.1 times, respectively, and notably exceeds those of perovskite-based piezo-photocatalysts ever reported. The present work offers a valuable pathway for piezoelectric-assisted photocatalytic mechanism insight and sustainable hydrogen production, toward a remarkable advancement in pursuit of efficient and environmentally-friendly energy solutions.

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