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Nano-spherical Fe3O4 modified NixSy@SiMPs composite materials improve photoelectrochemical performance

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Abstract

More catalytic active sites and fast interfacial charge transfer rates have been shown to be effective strategies to enhance photocatalytic water decomposition. In this work, a microconical textured silicon wafer was constructed by wet chemical etching. Fe3O4 nanospheres and NixSy (NiS and Ni3S4 complexes) nanoclusters were prepared by solvothermal method, and Fe3O4 and NixSy were deposited on Si micropyramids (denoted as Fe3O4/NiS/Ni3S4@SiMPs) by drop-coating methods. Fe3O4/NiS/Ni3S4@SiMPs exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical properties and good stability at the composite ratio of Fe3O4 to NixSy was 1:5, and the starting potential of the composite was 0.29 V vs.RHE, maximum photohydrogen conversion efficiency was 0.32% (+ 1.21 V vs. RHE), photocurrent density was 0.82 mA cm−2. Fe3O4/NiS/Ni3S4@SiMPs exhibited 42 times higher photocurrent density than NixSy@SiMPs with long-term stability was up to 4 h. The results show that Fe3O4 significantly improved the photoelectrochemical performance of NixSy@SiMPs composites, mainly because that Fe3O4 nanospheres have high conductivity contributing to photogenerated carrier migration, and the heterojunction between semiconductors with different energy levels (Fe3O4, NixSy, Si) effectively inhibited the recombination of electrons and holes. This work provides directions for the preparation and photoelectrochemical properties of monocrystalline silicon-based supported NixSy and Fe3O4 composites.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [Li Zhang], upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Open Fund Project of Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Catalysis and Separation of Hunan Province of China (No. HNPCCS201901).

Funding

This work was funded by Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Department (Grant No. 414006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang, 414006, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Zhuo Zhong, Wanjun Chen, Xiaojia Chen, Jie Li, Haihua Yang, Li Zhang & Peng Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Catalysis and Separation of Hunan Province, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang, 414006, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Haihua Yang, Li Zhang & Peng Yang

Authors
  1. Zhuo Zhong
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  2. Wanjun Chen
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  3. Xiaojia Chen
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  4. Jie Li
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  5. Haihua Yang
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  6. Li Zhang
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  7. Peng Yang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study concept and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were carried out by ZZ, WC and XC. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ZZ and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Li Zhang.

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Zhong, Z., Chen, W., Chen, X. et al. Nano-spherical Fe3O4 modified NixSy@SiMPs composite materials improve photoelectrochemical performance. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12020-w

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