Recently, earth abundant transition metal oxides have gained particular attention as potential catalyst candidates due to their availability and low-cost comparing to substrates containing precious Pt or Au species. Herein, we present characterization of morphology, structure and electrochemical properties of pulsed 532 nm laser treated TiO2 nanotubes (NT) sputtered by the thin film of chromium. Scanning electron microscopy enables verification of the diameter and length of titania while Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies were used to evaluate crystalline phase and the oxidation state of elements, respectively. The recorded polarization curves clearly indicate that the optimized laser-treatment enhances activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) of the TiO2 NT decorated with very small amount of Cr species. The analysis of Mott-Schottky plot shows significant increment in donor density (Nd) for the laser irradiated sample comparing to the one before annealing and pristine titania resulting from the effective manipulation of the electrode/electrolyte interface. Moreover, the impact of the processing parameters including energy fluence of laser beam and the thickness of sputtered Cr layer on the current density was evaluated by the electrochemical measurements performed under vis and UV–vis light. The results show promising application of direct interaction of laser beam with the surface of material exhibiting initially both poor OER activity and visible light response.
Authors
- Łukasz Haryński link open in new tab ,
- dr hab. inż. Jakub Karczewski link open in new tab ,
- dr hab. inż. Jacek Ryl link open in new tab ,
- Katarzyna Grochowska,
- dr hab. inż. Katarzyna Siuzdak
Additional information
- DOI
- Digital Object Identifier link open in new tab 10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.160316
- Category
- Publikacja w czasopiśmie
- Type
- artykuły w czasopismach
- Language
- angielski
- Publication year
- 2021
