A modular approach to photochemical water splitting catalysts using KCa2Nb3O10 nanosheets, IrO2 and Pt nanoparticles

INOR 64

Owen C. Compton1, Elizabeth C Carroll, eccarroll@ucdavis.edu2, Michael Sarahan, mcsarahan@ucdavis.edu1, Cory Mullet3, Shirley Chiang4, Nigel D Browning5, Delmar S. Larsen, dlarsen@ucdavis.edu2, and Frank E. Osterloh, fosterloh@ucdavis.edu1. (1) Department of Chemistry, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, (2) Department of Chemistry, University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, (3) UC Davis, (4) Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, (5) Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616
We present a modular strategy to build photochemical water splitting catalysts by linkage of nanomaterials. Exfoliation of the layered perovskite KCa2Nb3O10 produces 1.6 nm thin nanosheets (bandgap 3.5 eV) that are active for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water upon UV irradiation. Modification of the sheets with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane allows attachment of preformed Pt or IrO2 nanoparticles via bonding to the amine. In addition, Pt particles can be photochemically grown on the nanosheet surface. The resulting nanostructures were characterized by TEM, HRTEM, UV/vis, fluorescence, XPS, IR. The performance of the catalysts was tested under UV irradiation with a low pressure Hg lamp. Transient absorption spectroscopy was used to determine the excited state lifetimes of the nanosheets.
 

Nanoscience - Characterization and Applications
9:00 AM-1:00 PM, Sunday, April 6, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 221, Oral

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008