WO 3–TiO 2 nanotubes modified with tin oxide as efficient and stable photocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting‏

WO₃-TiO₂ nanotubes modified with tin oxide as efficient and stable photocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Yousef Ghayeb, Mohamad Mohsen Momeni, Mojgan Shafiei

Abstract

One-step anodization combined with chemical bath deposition was used to prepare ternary hybrid SnO2@WO3–TiO2 photoelectrodes. Various analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy were applied to characterize the synthetic hybrids. Photoelectrochemical water splitting performance of new hybrid photoelectrodes significantly enhanced compared with bare WO3–TiO2 photoelectrodes, as shown by the investigation of the photoelectrochemical properties of electrodes. In comparison with bare WO3–TiO2 sample, WO3–TiO2 immersed in tin chloride for 60 min exhibited a maximum photocurrent density and better photoresponse under light illumination (about 6.5 times improvement in water splitting performance) according to the experimental results. Optimal contents of SnO2 in WO3–TiO2 …

Journal of the Iranian Chemical Society