| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45719 | Applied Catalysis B: Environmental | 2015 | 7 Pages |
•Ionic liquid (IL) modified TiO2 was prepared as a novel OER photocatalyst.•The PEC activity of TiO2 was enhanced due to the modification of IL.•The inorganic anions of IL could decrease the surface pH value of TiO2.•Synergistic effect between IL and TiO2 attributes to the improved PEC activity.
Ionic liquid (IL) [BsAIm][HSO4] was covalently introduced to TiO2 through a simple route. The synthesized IL-TiO2 hybrid was thoroughly studied by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The as-prepared IL-TiO2 not only exhibits a significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity, which is almost ten-fold higher than that of the bare TiO2, but also possesses promising photo-stability under continuous working conditions. Based on the results, such as charge transfer efficiency, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) emission spectroscopy, and incident-photon-to-current-conversion efficiency (IPCE) tests, we propose a reasonable mechanism to understand the enhanced performance of the IL-TiO2 toward PEC water oxidation. The significant enhanced PEC performance of IL-TiO2 should be ascribed to a synergistic effect between covalently linked IL units and TiO2 particles.
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