Template-free synthesis of Ta3N5 nanorod arrays for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Chao Zhen; Lianzhou Wang; Gang Liu; Gao Qing Max Lu; Hui-Ming Cheng

doi:10.1039/c3cc40760h

Template-free synthesis of Ta3N5 nanorod arrays for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Chem Commun (Camb). 2013 Apr 14;49(29):3019-21. doi: 10.1039/c3cc40760h.

Authors

Chao Zhen¹, Lianzhou Wang, Gang Liu, Gao Qing Max Lu, Hui-Ming Cheng

Affiliation

¹ Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016, China.

PMID: 23463440
DOI: 10.1039/c3cc40760h

Abstract

We report the template-free synthesis of Ta3N5 nanorod array films grown on Ta foil by a combination of a vapor-phase hydrothermal process and subsequent nitriding. The Ta3N5 nanorod array film modified with Co(OH)x when used as a photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell for water splitting yields a stable photocurrent density of 2.8 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 VRHE under AM 1.5G simulated sunlight. The incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency at 480 nm is determined to be 37.8%.