Evaluation of the percentage of carbon nitrides containing single atoms in TiO2-based photoanodes

• Grant number: 21/11806-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lucia Helena Mascaro Sales
• Grantee: Juliana Lucca Francisco
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07296-2 - CDMF - Center for the Development of Functional Materials, AP.CEPID

Abstract

With an imminent depletion of fossil fuels, there was an intensification of research in the environmental areas and systems for the generation and storage of energy from renewable sources, such as hydrogen from water splitting. However, to obtain this fuel by electrolysis, high overpotentials are required, in addition to the thermodynamics, which hinders large-scale production. Some approaches that can be useful to overcome this problem are the use of more easily oxidized species such as methanol to facilitate or even replace the reaction of the evolution of oxygen, the use of light as an energy source, exciting semiconductors such as TiO2. The use of pure TiO2, however, has drawbacks such as a high rate of charge recombination, which can be mitigated by the use in composites with species such as carbon nitrides. In this context, this project proposes the evaluation of photoelectrochemical properties in front of methanol oxidation reaction, of TiO2-based photoanodes containing different percentages of the Poly(heptazine imide) (PHI) type carbon nitrides, which contains in its structure single atoms of Co2+ and/or Ni2+.(AU)