RESUMEN
The fabrication of mixed-metal oxide films holds promise for the development of practical photoelectrochemical catalyst coatings but currently presents challenges in terms of homogeneity, cost, and scalability. We report a straightforward and versatile approach to produce catalytically active zirconium-based films for electrochemical and photoelectrochemical water oxidation. The mixed-metal oxide catalyst films are derived from novel single-source precursor oxide cage compounds containing Zr with first-row transition metals such as Co, Fe, and Cu. The Zr-based film doped with Co on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)-coated glass exhibits the highest electrocatalytic O2 evolution performance in an alkaline medium and an operational stability above 18 h. The deposition of this film onto a BiVO4 photoanode significantly enhances its photoelectrochemical activity toward solar water oxidation, lowering the onset potential by 0.12-0.21 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and improving the maximum photocurrent density by â¼50% to 2.41 mA cm-2 for the CoZr-coated BiVO4 photoanodes compared to that for bare BiVO4.
RESUMEN
To ensure a sustainable future, it is imperative to efficiently utilize abundant biomass to produce such as platform chemicals, transport fuels, and other raw materials; hydrochar is one of the promising candidates derived by hydrothermal carbonization of biomass in pressurized hot water. The synthesis of "hydrochar-wrapped Ti3AlC2-derived nanofibers" was successfully achieved by a facile one-pot hydrothermal reaction using glucose as the hydrochar precursor. Meanwhile, cellulose and pinewood sawdust as raw materials were also investigated. Products were characterized by XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, SEM, TEM and FT-IR to investigate their crystal structures, textural properties, morphologies, and surface species. In the adsorption test to remove Cd(II) and Cu(II) in aqueous solution, hydrochar-wrapped nanofibers outperformed pure nanofibers derived from Ti3AlC2, hydrothermal carbon derived from glucose and commercial activated carbon. Finally, the regeneration, sorption kinetics, and possible adsorption mechanism were also explored.
