Abstract
Two types of cobalt imidazole complexes, e.g. cobalt 2-methylimidazole (Co-MIm) and cobalt 1-ethylimidazole (Co-EIm), are adopted as surface passivation agents to modify the Sn-doped α-Fe2O3 nanorods (Sn-Fe2O3 NRs) photoanode by a facile impregnation method. Systematic characterizations are performed and the fabricated photoanodes are applied to photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Interestingly, the cobalt imidazoles nanosheets are embedded into the Sn-Fe2O3 NRs film to form crack-like gaps and NRs bundles on the surface of the composite photoanodes, e.g. Co-MIm@Sn-Fe2O3 and Co-EIm@Sn-Fe2O3. With simulated sunlight irradiation and an applied potential of 1.23 V (vs. RHE), the photocurrent densities of the Co-EIm@Sn-Fe2O3 and Co-MIm@Sn-Fe2O3 reach 0.81 mA/cm2 and 0.61 mA/cm2 with enhanced stability, respectively, compared with 0.36 mA/cm2 of the Sn-Fe2O3. The gaps and bundles on the surface of the composite photoanodes make the surface rougher and improve their light absorption ability. Moreover, the cobalt imidazoles as passivation agents can effectively inhibit surface states from capturing charge carriers, reduce charge recombination and facilitate charge transfer, thus improving the PEC performance. Notably, it is found that the cobalt imidazole with a longer alkyl chain, e.g. Co-EIm, is more effective than the Co-MIm.
Graphical Abstract
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Shindell D, Smith CJ (2019) Nature 573:408–411
Hong Y, Jeon SH, Jeong H, Ryu H (2021) Ceram Int 47:7814–7823
Chen D, Liu Z, Guo Z, Ruan M, Yan W (2019) Chemsuschem 12:3286–3295
Sharma P, Jang J-W, Lee JS (2019) ChemCatChem 11:157–179
Gonçalves RH, Lima BHR, Leite ER (2011) J Am Chem Soc 133:6012–6019
Yi S-S, Wulan B-R, Yan J-M, Jiang Q (2019) Adv Funct Mater 29:1801902
Wang L, Nguyen NT, Huang X, Schmuki P, Bi Y (2017) Adv Funct Mater 27:1703527
Makimizu Y, Nguyen NT, Tucek J, Ahn H-J, Yoo J, Poornajar M, Hwang I, Kment S, Schmuki P (2020) Chem-Eur J 26:2685–2692
Chen S, Li J, Bai J, Xia L, Zhang Y, Li L, Xu Q, Zhou B (2018) Appl Cataly B: Environ 237:175–184
Ma H, Hwang JB, Chae WS, Chung HS, Choi SH, Mahadik MA, Lee HH, Jang JS (2021) Appl Surf Sci 549:149233
Sun J, Xia W, Zheng Q, Zeng X, Liu W, Liu G, Wang P (2020) ACS Omega 5:12339–12345
Peerakiatkhajohn P, Yun J-H, Chen H, Lyu M, Butburee T, Wang L (2016) Adv Mater 28:6405–6410
Quang ND, Hu W, Chang HS, Van PC, Viet DD, Jeong J-R, Seo DB, Kim ET, Kim C, Kim D (2021) Chem Eng J 417:129278
Li Y, Wu Q, Chen Y, Zhang R, Li C, Zhang K, Li M, Lin Y, Wang D, Zou X, Xie T (2021) Appl Cataly B: Environ 290:120058
Lin Y, Xu Y, Mayer MT, Simpson ZI, McMahon G, Zhou S, Wang D (2012) J Am Chem Soc 134:5508–5511
Li W, Wang K, Yang X, Zhan F, Wang Y, Liu M, Qiu X, Li J, Zhan J, Li Q, Liu Y (2020) Chem Eng J 379:122256
Lei B, Xu D, Wei B, Xie T, Xiao C, Jin W, Xu L (2021) ACS Appl Mater Inter 13:4785–4795
Klahr B, Gimenez S, Fabregat-Santiago F, Bisquert J, Hamann TW (2012) J Am Chem Soc 134:16693–16700
Li H, Yin M, Li X, Mo R (2021) Chemsuschem 14:2331–2340
Wu J, Huang P, Fan H, Wang G, Liu W (2020) ACS Appl Mater Inter 12:30304–30312
Fu Y, Lu Y-R, Ren F, Xing Z, Chen J, Guo P, Pong W-F, Dong C-L, Zhao L, Shen S (2020) Solar RRL 4:1900349
Jeon TH, Moon G-H, Park H, Choi W (2017) Nano Energy 39:211–218
Chai X, Zhang H, Pan Q, Bian J, Chen Z, Cheng C (2019) Appl Surf Sci 470:668–676
Steier L, Herraiz-Cardona I, Gimenez S, Fabregat-Santiago F, Bisquert J, Tilley SD, Grätzel M (2014) Adv Funct Mater 24:7681–7688
Vittal JJ, Quah HS (2017) Dalton Trans 46:7120–7140
Bonin J, Maurin A, Robert M (2017) Coordin Chem Rev 334:184–198
Cai G, Jiang H-L (2017) Angew Chem Int Ed 56:563–567
Kong X-J, Lin Z, Zhang Z-M, Zhang T, Lin W (2016) Angew Chem Int Ed 55:6411–6416
Zhou S, Yue P, Huang J, Wang L, She H, Wang Q (2019) Chem Eng J 371:885–892
McNamara WR, Han Z, Alperin PJ, Brennessel WW, Holland PL, Eisenberg R (2011) J Am Chem Soc 133:15368–15371
Zhou W, Niu F, Mao SS, Shen S (2018) Appl Cataly B: Environ 220:362–366
Wang H, He X, Li W, Chen H, Fang W, Tian P, Xiao F, Zhao L (2019) Chem Commun 55:11382–11385
Zhong L, Ding J, Qian J, Hong M (2021) Coordin Chem Rev 434:213804
Zhang B, Dong G, Wang L, Zhang Y, Ding Y, Bi Y (2017) Cataly Sci Technol 7:4971–4976
Rivera-Torrente M, Mandemaker LDB, Filez M, Delen G, Seoane B, Meirer F, Weckhuysen BM (2020) Chem Soc Rev 49:6694–6732
Wang S, Hou Y, Lin S, Wang X (2014) Nanoscale 6:9930–9934
Cai G, Zhang W, Jiao L, Yu S-H, Jiang H-L (2017) Chem 2:791–802
Li L, Zhang H, Liu C, Liang P, Mitsuzaki N, Chen Z (2019) Energy Technol 7:1801069
Wang K, Liu Y, Kawashima K, Yang X, Yin X, Zhan F, Liu M, Qiu X, Li W, Mullins CB, Li J (2020) Adv Sci 7:2002563
Wu F, Xie J, You Y, Zhao Z, Wang L, Chen X, Yang P, Huang Y (2020) ACS Appl Energy Mater 3:4867–4876
Chang H, Shang Z, Kong Q, Liu P, Liu J (2019) Luo Ha. Chem Eng J 370:314–321
Ling Y, Wang G, Wheeler DA, Zhang JZ, Li Y (2011) Nano Lett 11:2119–2125
Yuan Y, Gu J, Ye K-H, Chai Z, Yu X, Chen X, Zhao C, Zhang Y, Mai W (2016) ACS Appl Mater Inter 8:16071–16077
Das A, Nair RG (2020) J Alloy Comp 817:153277
Feng X, Lin S, Li M, Bo X, Guo L (2017) Anal Chim Acta 984:96–106
Kwon HT, Jeong H-K, Lee AS, An HS, Lee JS (2015) J Am Chem Soc 137:12304–12311
Tang F, Cheng W, Su H, Zhao X, Liu Q (2018) ACS Appl Mater Inter 10:6228–6234
Yang J-S, Wu J-J (2017) Nano Energy 32:232–240
Lee YH, Chitumalla RK, Jang BY, Jang J, Thogiti S, Kim JH (2016) Dyes Pigments 133:161–172
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department (21A0089) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2019JJ50595).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Han, H., Chen, J., Wen, L. et al. Cobalt(II)-Imidazoles Passivated α-Fe2O3 Photoanode for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation. Catal Lett 152, 3294–3303 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-021-03909-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-021-03909-w