Lewis acid catalysis of polydopamine electropolymerisation as a tool for shaping its morphology and electrochemical properties

Organic–inorganic semiconductor interfaces are of utmost importance in many photoelectrochemical applications, including water splitting and photodegradation of pollutants. The current work focuses on the fabrication and characterisation of transition metal-loaded polydopamine (PDA) electropolymeris...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of materials science Vol. 59; no. 20; pp. 9126 - 9149
Main Authors Polaczek, Krzysztof, Olejnik, Adrian, Gumieniak, Justyna, Kramek, Agnieszka, Karczewski, Jakub, Siuzdak, Katarzyna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Springer US 01.05.2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Catalysis
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Charge transfer
Chemistry and Materials Science
Classical Mechanics
Copper
Crystallography and Scattering Methods
Density functional theory
Dopamine
Electrochemical analysis
Electrons
Heavy metals
Lewis acid
Light
Materials Science
Morphology
Nanoparticles
Photodegradation
Photoelectric effect
Photoelectric emission
Photoelectrons
Pollutants
Polymer Sciences
Polymers
Polymers & Biopolymers
Quantum efficiency
Solid Mechanics
Transition metals
Water splitting
X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
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Summary:Organic–inorganic semiconductor interfaces are of utmost importance in many photoelectrochemical applications, including water splitting and photodegradation of pollutants. The current work focuses on the fabrication and characterisation of transition metal-loaded polydopamine (PDA) electropolymerised on the surface of titania nanotubes. The structural studies via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the catalytic effect of d-metal salts on the formation of the PDA layer during electropolymerisation. Cu and Ni loading leads to a significant enhancement of the visible absorption compared to that of the pristine PDA, also confirmed by the density functional theory calculations. Although the boost is greater for the thickest coatings, an excess amount of polymer suppresses the charge transfer and thus photocurrent generation. Synthesis in acidic conditions—optimal for photosensitisation—provides structures with a strong increase in the photocurrent quantum efficiency in the visible range, equal to 20% at 400 nm. Graphical Abstract
ISSN:0022-2461
1573-4803
DOI:10.1007/s10853-024-09722-1