Facile fabrication of three-dimensional interconnected nanoporous N-TiO_2 for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

摘要

Three-dimensional(3 D) interconnected porous architectures are expected to perform well in photoelectrochemical(PEC) water splitting due to their high specific surface area as well as favourable porous properties and interconnections. In this work, we demonstrated the facile fabrication of 3 D interconnected nanoporous N-doped TiO_2(N-TiO_2 network) by annealing the anodized 3 D interconnected nanoporous TiO_2(TiO_2 network) in ammonia atmosphere. The obtained N-TiO_2 network exhibited broadened light absorption, and abundant, interconnected pores for improving charge separation, which was supported by the reduced charge transfer resistance. With these merits, a remarkably high photocurrent density at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE) was realized for the N-TiO_2 network without any co-catalysts or sacrificial reagents, and the photostability can be assured after long term illumination.In view of its simplicity and efficiency, this structure promises for perspective PEC applications.