Rugged Forest Morphology of Magnetoplasmonic Nanorods that Collect Maximum Light for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Mahendra Goddati; Huu-Quang Nguyen; Sohyun Kang; Birhanu Bayissa Gicha; Lemma Teshome Tufa; Njemuwa Nwaji; My-Chi Thi Nguyen; Juyong Gwak; Jaebeom Lee

doi:10.1002/smll.202302980

Rugged Forest Morphology of Magnetoplasmonic Nanorods that Collect Maximum Light for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Small. 2023 Oct;19(43):e2302980. doi: 10.1002/smll.202302980. Epub 2023 Jun 27.

Authors

Mahendra Goddati¹, Huu-Quang Nguyen², Sohyun Kang², Birhanu Bayissa Gicha^{2

3}, Lemma Teshome Tufa^{2

4

5}, Njemuwa Nwaji⁴, My-Chi Thi Nguyen², Juyong Gwak¹, Jaebeom Lee^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea.
³ Environmental Science Program, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, P.O. Box 138, Ethiopia.
⁴ Institute of Materials Chemistry, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, South Korea.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888, Adama, Ethiopia.

PMID: 37376838
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202302980

Abstract

A feasible nanoscale framework of heterogeneous plasmonic materials and proper surface engineering can enhance photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting performance owing to increased light absorbance, efficient bulk carrier transport, and interfacial charge transfer. This article introduces a new magnetoplasmonic (MagPlas) Ni-doped Au@Fe_x O_y nanorods (NRs) based material as a novel photoanode for PEC water-splitting. A two stage procedure produces core-shell Ni/Au@Fe_x O_y MagPlas NRs. The first-step is a one-pot solvothermal synthesis of Au@Fe_x O_y . The hollow Fe_x O_y nanotubes (NTs) are a hybrid of Fe₂ O₃ and Fe₃ O₄ , and the second-step is a sequential hydrothermal treatment for Ni doping. Then, a transverse magnetic field-induced assembly is adopted to decorate Ni/Au@Fe_x O_y on FTO glass to be an artificially roughened morphologic surface called a rugged forest, allowing more light absorption and active electrochemical sites. Then, to characterize its optical and surface properties, COMSOL Multiphysics simulations are carried out. The core-shell Ni/Au@Fe_x O_y MagPlas NRs increase photoanode interface charge transfer to 2.73 mAcm^-2 at 1.23 V RHE. This improvement is made possible by the rugged morphology of the NRs, which provide more active sites and oxygen vacancies as the hole transfer medium. The recent finding may provide light on plasmonic photocatalytic hybrids and surface morphology for effective PEC photoanodes.

Keywords: 1D nanomaterials; magnetoplasmonic nanorods; photoanodes; rugged forest; surface scattering; water splitting.

Abstract

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