Photocatalytic properties of gallium oxides prepared by precipitation methods toward the overall splitting of H2O

• Photocatalytic overall splitting of H2O on various gallium oxides was investigated.
• The photocatalytic property was separated to three categories from the state of gallium oxides.
• α-Ga2O3 exhibited high photocatalytic performance to this reaction.
• β-Ga2O3 exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity if a RhyCr2−yO3 co-catalyst was combined.
• The quantum yield of Rh0.5Cr1.5O3/β-Ga2O3 was 24% at 254 nm.

The photocatalytic properties of gallium oxides that were prepared by precipitation methods to the overall splitting of H2O were studied. The photocatalytic behavior of the NiO-loaded gallium oxides to this reaction could be separated into three categories on the basis of the preparation temperatures of the gallium oxides. The photocatalytic behavior of each category reflected the behavior of corresponding crystal phase of gallium oxides. Of these categories, NiO-loaded α-Ga2O3, which composed the second category, exhibited remarkably high photocatalytic activity compared with those of NiO-loaded GaO(OH) and NiO-loaded β-Ga2O3 which composed the first and third categories, respectively. Through investigations, such as the characterization of the prepared gallium oxides, the effects of combining RhyCr2−yO3 co-catalyst with the photocatalytic activity and the effects of the preparation methods on the photocatalytic reaction, the influences of the states and the morphologies of the gallium oxide photocatalysts to the photocatalytic overall splitting of H2O were discussed.

The photocatalytic properties of gallium oxides prepared by precipitation method toward the overall splitting of H2O depend on the crystal phase originated with the preparation temperature.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (49 K)Download as PowerPoint slide