Amorphous and Crystalline Sodium Tantalate Composites for Photocatalytic Water Splitting.

Title Amorphous and Crystalline Sodium Tantalate Composites for Photocatalytic Water Splitting.
Authors T. Grewe; H. Tüysüz
Journal ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
DOI 10.1021/acsami.5b06965
Abstract

A facile hydrothermal synthesis protocol for the fabrication of sodium tantalates for photocatalytic water splitting is presented. Mixtures of tantalum and sodium ethoxide precursors were dispersed in ethanol, and ammonium hydroxide solution was used as mineralizer. By adjusting the amount of mineralizer, a variety of sodium tantalates with various morphologies, textural parameters, band gaps, crystal phases, and degrees of crystallinity were fabricated. The reaction was carefully monitored with a pressure sensor inside the autoclave reactor, and the obtained samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N2-physisorption, and ultraviolet-visible light spectroscopy. Among the series, the amorphous sample and the composite sample that consists of amorphous and crystalline phases showed superior activity toward photocatalytic hydrogen production than highly crystalline samples. Particularly, an amorphous sodium tantalate with a small fraction of crystalline nanoparticles with perovskite structure was found to be the most active sample, reaching a hydrogen rate of 3.6 mmol h(-1) from water/methanol without the use of any cocatalyst. Despite its amorphous nature, this photocatalyst gave an apparent photocatalyst activity of 1200 ?mol g(-1) L(-1) h(-1) W(1-), which is 4.5-fold higher than highly crystalline NaTaO3. In addition, the most active sample gave promising activity for overall water splitting with a hydrogen production rate of 94 ?mol h(-1), which is superior to highly crystalline NaTaO3 prepared by conventional solid-solid state route.

Citation T. Grewe; H. Tüysüz.Amorphous and Crystalline Sodium Tantalate Composites for Photocatalytic Water Splitting.. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015;7(41):2315362. doi:10.1021/acsami.5b06965

Related Elements

Sodium

Sodium Bohr ModelSee more Sodium products. Sodium (atomic symbol: Na, atomic number: 11) is a Block D, Group 5, Period 4 element with an atomic weight of 22.989769. The number of electrons in each of Sodium's shells is [2, 8, 1] and its electron configuration is [Ne] 3s1. The sodium atom has a radius of 185.8 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 227 pm. Sodium was discovered and first isolated by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1807. In its elemental form, sodium has a silvery-white metallic appearance. It is the sixth most abundant element, making up 2.6 % of the earth's crust. Sodium does not occur in nature as a free element and must be extracted from its compounds (e.g., feldspars, sodalite, and rock salt). The name Sodium is thought to come from the Arabic word suda, meaning "headache" (due to sodium carbonate's headache-alleviating properties), and its elemental symbol Na comes from natrium, its Latin name.

Tantalum

See more Tantalum products. Tantalum (atomic symbol: Ta, atomic number: 73) is a Block D, Group 5, Period 6 element with an atomic weight of 180.94788. Tantalum Bohr ModelThe number of electrons in each of tantalum's shells is [2, 8, 18, 32, 11, 2] and its electron configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d3 6s2. The tantalum atom has a radius of 146 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 217 pm. High Purity (99.999%) Tantalum (Ta) MetalTantalum was first discovered by Anders G. Ekeberg in 1802 in Uppsala, Sweden however, it was not until 1844 when Heinrich Rose first recognized it as a distinct element. In its elemental form, tantalum has a grayish blue appearance. Tantalum is found in the minerals tantalite, microlite, wodginite, euxenite, and polycrase. Due to the close relation of tantalum to niobium in the periodic table, Tantalum's name originates from the Greek word Tantalos meaning Father of Niobe in Greek mythology.

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