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Fe2O3/TiO2/WO3/Ti3C2Tx heterojunction composite material for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

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Abstract

Efficient photocatalytic performance plays a pivotal role in tackling our present energy challenges. A well-designed arrangement of nanoscale semiconductors and metallic components within multi-heterojunction photocatalysts can establish rapid transport pathways, enhancing the separation and migration of charge carriers. This approach offers a viable strategy towards achieving optimal photocatalytic efficiency. Herein, the glancing angle deposition technique (GLAD) technology of electron beam evaporation and spin-coating method were used to construct Fe2O3/TiO2/WO3/Ti3C2Tx quaternary composite materials with serial heterojunctions. Photocatalytic activity was assessed through photoelectrochemical tests, revealing that the Fe2O3/TiO2/WO3/Ti3C2Tx composite material outperformed its counterparts under visible-light irradiation. Notably, it achieved the highest photocurrent response, with a maximum photocurrent density of 1.09 mA/cm2. This represented a substantial improvement, surpassing Fe2O3, Fe2O3/TiO2, and Fe2O3/TiO2/WO3 photocatalysts by factors of 36, 2.8 and 1.25, respectively. This remarkable enhancement can be attributed to the formation of three heterojunctions in series, creating multiple pathways for efficient charge transfer and separation during the photocatalytic process. Furthermore, we proposed a photocatalytic mechanism for quaternary heterojunctions based on band structure analysis.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant no. 2682021GF007), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51902272), Sichuan Science and Technology program (Grant nos. 2023NSFSC1911 and 2021YFG0228) and Key Laboratory of materials and surface technology, Ministry of Education (No. xxx-2023-zd007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical Science and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, Sichuan, China

    Shujun Wu, Kai Ou, Wenting Zhang, Yuxiang Ni, Yongliang Tang, Yudong Xia & Hongyan Wang

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  1. Shujun Wu
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  2. Kai Ou
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  3. Wenting Zhang
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  4. Yuxiang Ni
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Contributions

SW: investigation, formal analysis, validation, data curation, writing—original draft. KO: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, project administration, writing—review. WZ: writing—review and editing, formal analysis. YN: writing—review and editing, formal analysis. YT: writing—review and editing, methodology. YX: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, project administration. HW: writing—review and editing, formal analysis.

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Correspondence to Kai Ou or Yudong Xia.

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Wu, S., Ou, K., Zhang, W. et al. Fe2O3/TiO2/WO3/Ti3C2Tx heterojunction composite material for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting. Appl. Phys. A 130, 155 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-024-07326-9

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