Al <sup>3+</sup> ‐Dependent Anisotropic Facet Tailoring on SrTiO <sub>3</sub> Single Crystal for Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting
Abstract
Abstract Controllable fabrication of single‐crystal metal oxide is of paramount importance for advanced photo(electro)catalytic applications, but achieving nonequilibrium crystal shapes with tailored facets through molten salt synthesis still remains a challenge. Herein, we systematically explored the effect of Al 3+ concentration in tailoring crystal facets of SrTiO 3 single crystals and developed a one‐step molten salt strategy for engineering anisotropic structures by using miscible AlCl 3 as Al 3+ additive. By progressively increasing Al 3+ concentration, a series of high‐quality SrTiO 3 single crystals exposing {100}, {111}, and {110} facets were sequentially synthesized. Theoretical calculations reveal an Al‐doping stabilized {111} surface reconstruction and provide further atomistic insights into the surface structural evolution with Wulff constructions as Al 3+ concentration increases. Experimental results demonstrate that the anisotropic facets dominate the efficient charge separation for the enhanced photocatalytic overall water splitting activity. Consequently, SrTiO 3 single crystals enclosed by well‐defined {100} and {111} facets exhibit a remarkable hydrogen evolution rate of 2621.85 µmol·h −1 and an apparent quantum yield value of 50.5% at 350 nm for stoichiometric overall water splitting. This work offers a molten‐salt synthetic strategy and valuable insight for preparing facet‐controlled single‐crystal semiconductors.
Article Details
Authors (15)
Yang Zhang
Zhi‐Hao Wang
Beijing Computational Science Research Center Beijing 100193 China
Wenbo Li
Peng Cheng Ding
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering East China University of Science and Technology 130 Meilong Road Shanghai 200237 China
Meng Min Wang
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering East China University of Science and Technology 130 Meilong Road Shanghai 200237 China
Yu Yang Tang
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering East China University of Science and Technology 130 Meilong Road Shanghai 200237 China
Hao Yang Lin
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering
Yu Peng
Meng Yi Wang
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering East China University of Science and Technology 130 Meilong Road Shanghai 200237 China
Zhaoke Zheng
State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials
Shuang Yang
Micro−Nano Engineering Sciences Research Center, School of Mechanical Engineering
Sheng Dai
Xie Zhang
School of Materials Science and Engineering
Peng Fei Liu
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China
Hua Gui Yang
Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China