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Activation of Water‐Splitting Photocatalysts by Loading with Ultrafine Rh–Cr Mixed‐Oxide Cocatalyst Nanoparticles
Author(s) -
Kurashige Wataru,
Mori Yutaro,
Ozaki Shuhei,
Kawachi Masanobu,
Hossain Sakiat,
Kawawaki Tokuhisa,
Shearer Cameron J.,
Iwase Akihide,
Metha Gregory F.,
Yamazoe Seiji,
Kudo Akihiko,
Negishi Yuichi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201916681
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , water splitting , oxide , nanoparticle , materials science , quantum yield , yield (engineering) , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , catalysis , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , metallurgy , optics , physics , organic chemistry , engineering , fluorescence
The activity of many water‐splitting photocatalysts could be improved by the use of Rh III –Cr III mixed oxide (Rh 2− x Cr x O 3 ) particles as cocatalysts. Although further improvement of water‐splitting activity could be achieved if the size of the Rh 2− x Cr x O 3 particles was decreased further, it is difficult to load ultrafine (<2 nm) Rh 2− x Cr x O 3 particles onto a photocatalyst by using conventional loading methods. In this study, a new loading method was successfully established and was used to load Rh 2− x Cr x O 3 particles with a size of approximately 1.3 nm and a narrow size distribution onto a BaLa 4 Ti 4 O 15 photocatalyst. The obtained photocatalyst exhibited an apparent quantum yield of 16 %, which is the highest achieved for BaLa 4 Ti 4 O 15 to date. Thus, the developed loading technique of Rh 2− x Cr x O 3 particles is extremely effective at improving the activity of the water‐splitting photocatalyst BaLa 4 Ti 4 O 15 . This method is expected to be extended to other advanced water‐splitting photocatalysts to achieve higher quantum yields.