Vertical Si nanowire (NW) arrays are a promising photoanode material in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting field because of their highly efficient light absorption capability and large surface areas for PEC reactions. However, Si NW arrays always suffer from high overpotential, low photocurrent density, and low applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) due to their low surface catalytic activity and intense charge recombination. Here, we report an efficient oxygen evolution cocatalyst of optically transparent, mesoporous ultrathin (2.47 nm thick) InO nanosheets, which are coupled on the top of Si NW arrays. Combined with a conformal TiO thin film as an intermediate protective layer, this Si NW/TiO/InO (2.47 nm) heterostructured photoanode exhibited an extremely low onset potential of 0.6 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The Si NW/TiO/InO (2.47 nm) photoanode also showed a high photocurrent density of 27 mA cm at 1.23 V vs RHE, more than 1 order of magnitude higher than that of the Si NW/TiO photoanodes. This improvement in solar water splitting performance was attributed to the significantly promoted charge injection efficiency as a result of the InO nanosheet coupling. This work presents a promising pathway for developing efficient Si-based photoanodes by coupling ultrathin 2D cocatalysts.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c14865 | DOI Listing |
Environ Toxicol Chem
January 2025
Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, St Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA.
Treated municipal wastewater effluent is an important pathway for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) to enter aquatic ecosystems. As the aging wastewater infrastructure in many industrialized countries requires upgrades or replacement, assessing new treatment technologies in the context of CEC effects may provide additional support for science-based resource management. Here, we used three lines of evidence, analytical chemistry, fish exposure experiments, and fish and water microbiome analysis, to assess the effectiveness of membrane bioreactor treatment (MBR) to replace traditional activated sludge treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrol Res Pract
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, Ankara University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara, Türkiye.
Objective: To investigate the effects of testosterone (T) treatment, with or without levothyroxine, the most widely used and least effective medication for managing hypothyroidism, on the functional and histological changes in propylthiouracil (PTU)- induced hypothyroid rat bladders.
Methods: Male rats (n=35) were split into control, hypothyroid, hypothyroid rats treated with levothyroxine (20 µg/kg/day, oral, 2-weeks), hypothyroid rats treated with Sustanon (10 mg/kg,iIM, once/week, 2-weeks), and hypothyroid rats treated with combined treatment groups. Hypothyroidism was induced by PTU (0.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ioannina, GR-451 10 Ioannina, Greece.
This paper describes the production and high-current-density hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance in the whole pH range (from acidic to basic pH values) of self-supported α-MoB/β-MoB ceramic electrodes, aiming for use in industrial electrocatalytic water splitting. Tape-casting and phase-inversion process, followed by sintering, were employed to synthesize self-supported β-MoB ceramic electrodes, which exhibited well arranged large finger-like pores, providing numerous active sites and channels for electrolyte entry and hydrogen release. The reaction between β-MoB and the sintering aid of MoO produces α-MoB/β-MoB heterojunctions, which significantly improve the electrocatalytic performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Key Laboratory for Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology of Ministry of Education, Institute of New-Energy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
The development of water splitting technology in alkaline medium requires the exploration of electrocatalysts superior to Pt/C to boost the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Ruthenium oxides with strong water dissociation ability are promising candidates; however, the lack of hydrogen combination sites immensely limits their performance. Herein, we reported a unique RuO catalyst with metallic Ru on its surface through a simple cation exchange method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Department of Applied Chemistry, Chuo University, Tokyo 112-8551, Japan.
We employed machine learning (ML) techniques combined with potential-dependent photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (pot-PEIS) to gain deeper insights into the charge transport mechanisms of hematite (α-FeO) photoanodes. By the Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis from the ML model constructed from a small data set (dozens of samples) of electrical parameters obtained from pot-PEIS and the PEC performance, we identified the dominant factors influencing the electron transport to the back contact in the bulk and hole transfer to a solution at the hematite/electrolyte interface. The results revealed that shallow defect states significantly enhance electron transport, while deep defect states impede it, and also one of the surface states enhances the hole transfer to the electrolyte solution.
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