Thermochemical method of synthesizing stemmed nanoflower TiO2/eC(3)N(4)heterojunction structures with enhanced solar water splitting

Abstract

TiO(2)nanoflower array linking to stem on a Ti foil is synthesized by thermochemical digestion of titanium at 80 degrees C by hydrogen peroxide and hydrofluoric acid solution. TiO(2)nanoflower comprised of the anatase TiO(2)which encased Ti metal core as seen by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy based depth profiling, x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and energy dispersive x-ray based elemental mapping. The TEM, selected area electron diffraction, and XRD analysis of air annealed TiO(2)nanoflower show presence of anatase (101) and anatase (200) crystals of about 35 nm size. The Photoelectrochemical activity in water splitting is assessed for heterojunction formed by the TiO(2)nanoflower with exfoliated carbon nitride (eC(3)N(4)), and the same is compared with heterojunction of TiO(2)nanotubular array and eC(3)N(4). It was found from linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that the synthesized stemmed-nanoflower TiO(2)offers superior PEC activity towards water splitting when used in heterojunction with eC(3)N(4)as compared to that of TiO(2)nanotube with eC(3)N(4).