A hybrid niobium-based oxide with bio-based porous carbon as an efficient electrocatalyst in photovoltaics: a general strategy for understanding the catalytic mechanism
Developing a high-performance catalyst and establishing a catalytic mechanism for understanding the catalytic activity are crucial to new generation photovoltaic technology. In this work, we present a feasible and general route to synthesize a bio-based porous carbon (BPC) supported ZnNb 2 O 6 hybri...
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Published in | Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 7; no. 24; pp. 14864 - 14875 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cambridge
Royal Society of Chemistry
2019
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Developing a high-performance catalyst and establishing a catalytic mechanism for understanding the catalytic activity are crucial to new generation photovoltaic technology. In this work, we present a feasible and general route to synthesize a bio-based porous carbon (BPC) supported ZnNb
2
O
6
hybrid catalyst with a unique network structure, providing an effective means for electron transport between the electrode and the external circuit. Benefitting from the synergistic effect of ZnNb
2
O
6
and BPC, a photovoltaic device assembled with the nanohybrid yields a power conversion efficiency of 8.83%, which is superior to that of pristine ZnNb
2
O
6
-based and conventional Pt-based cells (7.15% and 7.14%). Systematic electrochemical evaluations of the hybrid catalysts exhibit promising stability for practical application in photovoltaics. Contraposing the two vital functions of the counter electrode catalyst, collecting electrons and catalyzing I
3
−
reduction, we propose a general strategy to understand the potential catalytic mechanism from the band structure and surface adsorption by using first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The theoretical investigations clearly indicate that the splendid catalytic performance originates from the zero band-gap of surface metal atoms and the surface chemical adsorption interaction between I
3
−
and exposed metal atoms. The proposed general strategy in this work for synthesizing a hybrid material with a unique network structure and understanding the catalytic mechanism of the electrocatalyst can guide the design of expected catalytic nanohybrids applied in various energy fields.
A general strategy of understanding the catalytic mechanism for a high-performance bio-based porous carbon supported ZnNb
2
O
6
hybrid catalyst is illustrated. |
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Bibliography: | 10.1039/c9ta03540k Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI |
ISSN: | 2050-7488 2050-7496 |
DOI: | 10.1039/c9ta03540k |