Preparation and photocathodic protection property of ZnIn2S4/RGO/TiO2 composites for Q235 carbon steel under visible light

Hong Li; Yanhui Li; Meng Wang; Zhen Niu; Xiutong Wang; Baorong Hou

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/aada28

Preparation and photocathodic protection property of ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ composites for Q235 carbon steel under visible light

Nanotechnology. 2018 Oct 26;29(43):435706. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/aada28. Epub 2018 Aug 14.

Authors

Hong Li¹, Yanhui Li, Meng Wang, Zhen Niu, Xiutong Wang, Baorong Hou

Affiliation

¹ College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Qingdao University, 308 Ningxia Road, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 30106009
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aada28

Abstract

For improving the photocathodic protection performance of TiO₂ photoanode, ZnIn₂S₄/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/TiO₂ nanotubes (NTs) composite was synthesized by electrochemical anodizing combined with hydrothermal method. The photoelectrochemical and photocathodic protection properties of the ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ composite were investigated in detail. Compared with pure TiO₂ NTs, the ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ composite showed a significant improvement in photocathodic protection performances. The photogenerated open circuit potential drop of ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ coupled with Q235 carbon steel in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution under visible light could reach 420 mV versus saturated calomel electrode, which was more than twice as much as that of pure TiO₂. The photogenerated current density of ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ could reach 5.6 mA cm^-2, which was twice as much as that of pure TiO₂. The appearance of the adsorbed oxygen (O_A) enabled the ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ to have better photo-carrier separation efficiency and better photogenerated cathodic protection than pure TiO₂. The present work demonstrated ZnIn₂S₄/RGO/TiO₂ could be a potential material for photoanodes because of its better visible-light response, higher electrical conductivity and smaller charge transfer resistance.