English

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Bismuth Chromate Crystals for Photogenerated Charge Separation

• Chengbo Zhang ^{1, 2,} ,
• Xiaoping Tao ^{1, 2,} ,
• Wenchao Jiang ^{1, 3,} ,
• Junxue Guo ^{1, 3,} ,
• Pengfei Zhang ^{1, 2,} ,
• Can Li ^{1, 2, 3,} ,
• Rengui Li ^{1, 2, ,}

• 1.

  State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), Dalian 116023, Liaoning Province, China

• 2.

  University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

• 3.

  School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China

Corresponding author: Rengui Li, rgli@dicp.ac.cn

• Received Date: 16 March 2023
  Accepted Date: 14 April 2023
  Revised Date: 11 April 2023
  Available Online: 15 January 2024
• Fund Project:

Abstract: The conversion of renewable solar energy into chemical energy is an important topic in research. Recently, bismuth chromate (Bi₂CrO₆) has attracted attention in photocatalytic research, particularly for its potential applications in pollutant degradation and water splitting. This layered metal oxide exhibits a narrow optical band gap of approximately 1.9 eV and can utilize most of visible light in the solar spectrum. However, the photocatalytic activity of Bi₂CrO₆ is relatively low, and its poor charge separation properties restrict its practical applications. Herein, we report a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for the fabrication of Bi₂CrO₆ crystals with high crystallinity and uniform morphology. Compared with the conventional preparations, microwave irradiation induces rapid volumetric heating and greatly accelerates nucleation and growth reactions, forming Bi₂CrO₆ crystals within minutes. Multiple characterization methods, including X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and scanning electron microscopy, were employed to examine the crystallinity and morphologies of the samples. Microwave-assisted synthesized Bi₂CrO₆ crystals showed better water oxidation activity in photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical tests than the conventional samples. Oxygen evolution rates were boosted 7.2 and 3.1 times using AgNO₃ and Fe(NO₃)₃ as electron acceptors, respectively. Further investigations showed that microwave-assisted Bi₂CrO₆ crystals exhibited improved photogenerated charge separation. The average lifetime of photogenerated carriers, calculated from time-resolved photoluminescence results, also showed an increase. Furthermore, using photodeposition of metals and oxides as probes, the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes was demonstrated to take place between {001} top and side facets of the Bi₂CrO₆ crystal samples. Loading reduction and oxidation cocatalysts onto different facets significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activities. These results enforce the promise of microwave-assisted Bi₂CrO₆ crystal synthesis for photocatalytic water-splitting applications and present a solution for efficient solar-energy conversion.

Key words:
• Microwave synthesis
•  /  Bismuth chromate
•  /  Semiconductor
•  /  Photocatalysis
•  /  Water oxidation

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