TiO_(2)bunchy hierarchical structure with effective enhancement in sodium storage behaviors

Bronze phase TiO_(2)[TiO_(2)(B)]has great research potential for sodium storage since it has a higher theoretical capacity and ion mobility compared with other phases of TiO_(2).In this case,preparing porous TiO_(2)(B)nanosheets,which can provide abundant sodium insertion channels,is the most effective way to improve transport kinetics.Here,we use the strong one-dimensional TiO_(2)nanowires as the matrix for stringing these nanosheets together through a simple solvothermal method to build a bunchy hierarchical structure[TiO_(2)(B)-BH],which has fast pseudocapacitance behavior,high structural stability,and effective ion/electron transport.With the superiorities of this structure design,TiO_(2)(B)-BH has a higher capacity(131 vs.70 mAh g^(−1)[TiO_(2)-NWs]at 0.5 C).And it is worth mentioning that the reversible capacity of up to 500 cycles can still be maintained at 85 mAh g^(−1)at a high rate of 10 C.Meanwhile,we also further analyzed the sodium storage mechanism through the ex-situ X-ray powder diffraction test,which proved the high structural stability of TiO_(2)(B)-BH in the process of sodiumization/de-sodiumization.This strategy of uniformly integrating nanosheets into a matrix can also be extended to preparing electrode material structures of other energy devices.

Nanostructured AlFeO_(3) thin films as a novel photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

The earth-abundant and robust aluminum ferrite,AlFeO_(3)(AFO),is mainly studied in the context of ferroelectrics.Herein,we demonstrate that AFO can be used as a stable solar absorber in photoelectrochemical cells for solar water splitting,exhibiting attractive performance.This is the first report on the photoelectrochemical activity of AFO.AFO thin-film photoelectrodes prepared by solution-processing methods are composed of vertically oriented thin nanosheets,featuring the rhombohedral symmetry(R3c)and n-type conductivity.The as-prepared AFO photoanodes generate a photocurrent density of+0.78 mA·cm^(-2) at 1.23 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)with the photocurrent _(onset) potential(U_(onset))close to the flat band potential of 0.5 V vs.RHE in the presence of hole scavengers.Remarkably,the U_(onset) of AFO for solar water splitting coincides with the flat band potential as well,which is rare in n-type inorganic absorbers.We also report other properties of AFO associated with photoelectrochemical performance.AFO films exhibit a band gap energy of 2.31 eV and positive band edges with low dispersion.Moreover,the carrier lifetimes in AFO films are up to millisecond timescales under the mediation of defect traps.Based on the photoelectrochemical behavior and optoelectronic properties,we believe that AFO has great potential for application in photoelectrochemical cells.