Issue 56, 2017, Issue in Progress

Nanostructured WO3 photoanodes for efficient water splitting via anodisation in citric acid

Abstract

In this work we report the production of nanostructured WO3 photoanodes for solar water splitting produced via anodisation using for the first time citric acid (CA), a safer and more environmentally friendly alternative to fluoride-based electrolytes. Photoelectrochemical solar water splitting has shown potential as a renewable method for hydrogen production, a key ingredient to advance the de-carbonisation of our economy. Many methods to produce WO3 photoanodes are time-consuming and require high temperatures and/or toxic chemicals, such as fluoride-based electrolytes. Here we report on a systematic investigation of the anodisation of tungsten using CA to establish a relation between (i) anodisation parameters (current, time and electrolyte), (ii) the resulting nanostructured morphology and (iii) its performance as a photoanode for water splitting. Characterisation was carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, linear sweep voltammetry, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. After optimisation, the obtained WO3 photoanodes produced a photocurrent of 0.88 mA cm−2 at 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl in 0.5 M aqueous H2SO4 under AM1.5 solar irradiation. At low applied potentials (below 0.67 V vs. Ag/AgCl), closer to practical conditions, the photoanodes produced in CA outperformed a conventional counterpart made using a NH4F electrolyte. The CA-anodised photoanodes also showed higher stability, retaining 90% of their activity after 1 h of chopped solar illumination. This work demonstrates the promise of anodisation in citric acid as an efficient and more sustainable method for the production of WO3 photoanodes for solar water splitting.

Graphical abstract: Nanostructured WO3 photoanodes for efficient water splitting via anodisation in citric acid

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 May 2017
Accepted
06 Jul 2017
First published
13 Jul 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 35221-35227

Nanostructured WO3 photoanodes for efficient water splitting via anodisation in citric acid

J. Zhang, I. Salles, S. Pering, P. J. Cameron, D. Mattia and S. Eslava, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 35221 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA05342H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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