Advancement of Metal Oxide Materials for Photocatalytic Application: Selected Strategies to Achieve Higher Efficiency

234 Pages·2022·8.591 MB·English

by  Vitaly Gurylev

Vitaly Gurylev
Advancement
of Metal Oxide
Materials
for Photocatalytic
Application
Selected Strategies to Achieve Higher
Efficiency
Advancement of Metal Oxide Materials
for Photocatalytic Application
Vitaly Gurylev
Advancement of Metal
Oxide Materials
for Photocatalytic
Application
Selected Strategies to Achieve Higher
Efficiency
Vitaly Gurylev
Department of Electrical Engineering
National Tsing Hua University
Hsinchu, Taiwan
ISBN 978-3-031-20552-1 ISBN 978-3-031-20553-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20553-8
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This book is dedicated to National Tsing Hua
University for giving me a chance to become
someone I always dreamed to be … the
Researcher!
Preface
Employment of solar energy is generally determined to be a highly efficient method
to proceed reactions that previously were considered to be possible and accessible
only under harsh and intense conditions. For instance, commercially applied separa-
tion of water on its components, namely oxygen and hydrogen, is usually realized
via application of electrolysis or thermolysis protocols, which requires usage of
enormous amount of energy. Thus, it is a costly process that also negatively influ-
ences the surrounding environment due to CO emission. In turn, it also could be
2
advanced simply by placing a certain material called photocatalyst into aqueous
media and its subsequent irradiation with light. In this case, the rates of oxygen and
hydrogen productions are determined by the features and properties of this particu-
late material as it should satisfy numerous very strict requirements for efficient
absorption and utilization of solar light.
Recent studies discovered that there exist a lot of compounds and structures
which could serve the purpose of photocatalysis. Out of them, metal oxide materials
are generally accepted as one of the best choices due to the following advantages:
low price, simplicity of fabrication and synthesis, high stability in aqueous environ-
ments, and great biocompatibility. Yet, as nothing perfect is possible, even though
they can easily push forward photocatalytic reactions of almost any kind, the dem-
onstrated efficiency is very low as they are unable to advance the transformation of
solar to chemical energies at required levels. There are several reasons which could
explain this. Firstly, most metal oxides have wide band gap and thus significant part
of solar light cannot be absorbed. Secondly, even though it is possible to find materi-
als that enable to show required optical sensitivity, charge carriers that are presented
in the form of holes and electrons and are considered to be the main driving forces
for photocatalytic reactions tend to encounter each other during diffusion to the
surface causing mutual annihilation. Thus, to effectively realize processes associ-
ated with utilization of solar light, it is necessary to advance currently known metal
oxide materials.
There are exist various strategies which can perfectly fulfill this goal. They
include introduction of intrinsic and extrinsic deficiencies, fabrication of hetero-
junction, and utilizing of metal nanoparticles in the form of deposited or embedded
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viii Preface
formations. Each of them provides a great opportunity to tune and modify the most
important characteristics and features of target material following introduction and
realization of their own unique mechanisms that define how the advancement is sup-
posed to proceed and which factors are required to tune in order to reach the most
desirable outcome. Yet, to fully realize this potential and to understand how to make
these strategies serve at their best, it is necessary to properly access, revise, and
organize in most accessible way currently available information regarding them so
as to realize the range of their applicability and practical usage.
Following this goal, it is believed that this book could play its part in presenting
powerful source of knowledge that provides critical review and evaluation of each
strategy that is used to increase photoactivity of metal oxide materials.
Hsinchu, Taiwan Vitaly Gurylev
Acknowledgment
I would like to especially thank Dr. C. C. Kei, Research Fellow and Division
Director of ALD Process and Equipment Development Division at Taiwan
Instrument Research Institute for his great support and for those numerous advices
he provided me whenever I needed them. It helped me a lot in developing my poten-
tial further and making my progress as an independent researcher more efficient.
Without it, this book would have never been complete.
I would like to thank National Tsing Hua University, especially the Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, for giving me the opportunity to enroll as
PhD student and complete the course successfully. It was my dream to have
this degree.
I would like to thank Prof. P. W. Chiu, Vice President for Research and
Development and also Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, for his kindness and great professional
advice. It made my path toward advancing as a researcher much smoother and
quicker. I also express deep and sincere gratitude to him for providing me necessary
suggestions and help in understanding and acquiring my professional affiliation.
I want to thank my best friend (I would like to add—“the best of the best”) Chien
Jung (Kyle) Su, who always makes me believe that my future is in my hands as well
as my writing. Kyle, you always force me to apply laughing and joking as a cure to
all negative thinking. It works like a magic!
I would like to express my deepest and most prominent gratitude to the
Nanomaterials and Hydrogen Energy Laboratory in the Department of Materials
Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University under supervision of Prof.
T. P. Perng—for filling me with required knowledge during my stay there as PhD
student and postdoctoral fellow, which became the core and essence of this book.
Without it, this book would never have been finalized and completed.
In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. T. P. Perng personally
and pronounce that he is for me more than just a PhD supervisor, first and foremost
he is my mentor and adviser. His suggestions and constant support during and after
graduation made my advance more consistent and put my life on the right track.
Thus, I got a great chance to hasten my growth as a person and researcher.
ix
x Acknowledgment
I want to thank Prof. Artur Useinov for deep and thorough discussion, for always
answering my numerous calls and requests for meeting, and for providing necessary
advice and comments regarding the process of writing this book.
I would like to thank the Springer team, especially Michael Luby, for believing
in my ideas, offering a chance to accomplish a book, and understanding my situa-
tion, and Pradheepa Vijay—thank you for being with me during the whole process
of writing and submission, for reviewing and checking chapters, supplying feed-
back to my numerous questions, and for always being helpful and supportive.
Finally, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my beautiful
wife for continuous support, love, care, and understanding—thank you for being
patient and always staying beside me during the times when I was fully engaged in
writing this book.
About the Book
This book investigates applicability of various emerging strategies to improve
important properties and features of metal oxide materials that can be used further
to advance their photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performances. The range
of discussed strategies includes introduction of intrinsic and extrinsic deficiencies,
fabrication of heterojunction, and utilizing of metal nanoparticles in the form of
deposited or embedded formations. Each of them is addressed as separate case in
order to reach full and comprehensive assessment of their most fundamental prin-
ciples and basics as well as access pivotal advantages and disadvantages.
Furthermore, additional discussion is dedicated to achieving thorough awareness
over methods and experimental protocols that are used to realize them and also
probing changes which they induce in electronic and geometrical configurations of
metal oxide materials. It is believed that this book might become a valuable addition
to extend further current knowledge about photocatalysis and material processing.
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