Metal oxide nanostructures applied in photoelectrochemical devices
| Grant number: | 13/05471-1 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | August 01, 2013 |
| Effective date (End): | September 27, 2017 |
| Field of knowledge: | Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics |
| Principal Investigator: | Flavio Leandro de Souza |
| Grantee: | Waldemir Moura de Carvalho Junior |
| Home Institution: | Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil |
Abstract The use of iron oxide as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells for hydrogen generation has been intensively studied in recent years. In this sense, a significant number of research groups have sought new methods of synthesis for obtaining nanostructures with different morphologies in order to improve the efficiencies of these devices. In this PhD project, nanostructures of iron oxide in the form of vertically oriented rods on transparent conductive substrates are synthesized by a method that involves hydrothermal conditions. The main focus of this project is to understand the basic parameters that control the photocatalytic performance of hematite produced by the proposed method. Is still studied the influence of dopants and the pre-deposition layers (before the main layer of iron oxide) compounds such as SnO2, TiO2 and SiO2, in structural, morphological, physical-chemical and performance of photocatalytic materials modified. In studies of this system in the group has been found that the annealing temperature plays an important role in the properties of the material, determining the balance between the desired morphology and the percentage of conversion of hydrated phase to phase hematite. More recently, using different substrates such as support of nanostructures as well as some changes in the hydrothermal method has resulted in photoanodes with excellent photocatalytic performance. Thus, the understanding of these new results from changes in the synthetic method (under-layers, dopants and exchange of precursors) be essences to produce materials with properties and devices with improved performance and more competitive. | |