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Author Barreca, D.; Carraro, G.; Gasparotto, A.; Maccato, C.; Altantzis, T.; Sada, C.; Kaunisto, K.; Ruoko, T.-P.; Bals, S.
Title Vapor Phase Fabrication of Nanoheterostructures Based on ZnO for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Advanced Materials Interfaces Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater Interfaces
Volume 4 Issue 4 Pages 1700161
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Nanoheterostructures based on metal oxide semiconductors have emerged

as promising materials for the conversion of sunlight into chemical energy.

In the present study, ZnO-based nanocomposites have been developed by

a hybrid vapor phase route, consisting in the chemical vapor deposition

of ZnO systems on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates, followed by the

functionalization with Fe2O3 or WO3 via radio frequency-sputtering. The

target systems are subjected to thermal treatment in air both prior and after

sputtering, and their properties, including structure, chemical composition,

morphology, and optical absorption, are investigated by a variety of characterization

methods. The obtained results evidence the formation of highly

porous ZnO nanocrystal arrays, conformally covered by an ultrathin Fe2O3

or WO3 overlayer. Photocurrent density measurements for solar-triggered

water splitting reveal in both cases a performance improvement with respect

to bare zinc oxide, that is mainly traced back to an enhanced separation of

photogenerated charge carriers thanks to the intimate contact between the

two oxides. This achievement can be regarded as a valuable result in view of

future optimization of similar nanoheterostructured photoanodes.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000411525700007 Publication Date 2017-05-15
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN (up) 2196-7350 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.279 Times cited 30 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors kindly acknowledge the financial support under Padova University ex-60% 2013–2016, P-DiSC #SENSATIONAL BIRD2016- UNIPD projects and the post-doc fellowship ACTION. S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. COLOURATOM 335078) and T.A. acknowledges funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through a postdoctoral grant. Many thanks are also due to Dr. Rosa Calabrese (Department of Chemistry, Padova University, Italy) for experimental assistance. (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 4.279
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:146104UA @ admin @ c:irua:146104 Serial 4731
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Author Barreca, D.; Carraro, G.; Gasparotto, A.; Maccato, C.; Warwick, M.E.A.; Kaunisto, K.; Sada, C.; Turner, S.; Gönüllü, Y.; Ruoko, T.-P.; Borgese, L.; Bontempi, E.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Lemmetyinen, H.; Mathur, S.
Title Fe2O3-TiO2Nano-heterostructure Photoanodes for Highly Efficient Solar Water Oxidation Type A1 Journal article
Year 2015 Publication Advanced Materials Interfaces Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater Interfaces
Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 1500313
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Harnessing solar energy for the production of clean hydrogen by photo­electrochemical water splitting represents a very attractive, but challenging approach for sustainable energy generation. In this regard, the fabrication of Fe2O3–TiO2 photoanodes is reported, showing attractive performances [≈2.0 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode in 1 M NaOH] under simulated one-sun illumination. This goal, corresponding to a tenfold photoactivity enhancement with respect to bare Fe2O3, is achieved by atomic layer deposition of TiO2 over hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructures fabricated by plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition and final annealing at 650 °C. The adopted approach enables an intimate Fe2O3–TiO2 coupling, resulting in an electronic interplay at the Fe2O3/TiO2 interface. The reasons for the photocurrent enhancement determined by TiO2 overlayers with increasing thickness are unraveled by a detailed chemico-physical investigation, as well as by the study of photo­generated charge carrier dynamics. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that the increased photoelectrochemical response of heterostructured photoanodes compared to bare hematite is due to an enhanced separation of photogenerated charge carriers and more favorable hole dynamics for water oxidation. The stable responses obtained even in simulated seawater provides a feasible route in view of the eventual large-scale generation of renewable energy.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000368914700011 Publication Date 2015-09-03
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN (up) 2196-7350; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.279 Times cited 56 Open Access
Notes The authors kindly acknowledge the fi nancial support under the FP7 project “SOLAROGENIX” (NMP4-SL-2012-310333), as well as Padova University ex-60% 2012–2014 projects, Grant No. CPDR132937/13 (SOLLEONE), and Regione Lombardia-INSTM ATLANTE projects. S.T. acknowledges the FWO Flanders for a postdoctoral scholarship. Approved Most recent IF: 4.279; 2015 IF: NA
Call Number c:irua:129201 Serial 3957
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Author Barreca, D.; Carraro, G.; Gasparotto, A.; Maccato, C.; Warwick, M.E.A.; Toniato, E.; Gombac, V.; Sada, C.; Turner, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Fornasiero, P.;
Title Iron-titanium oxide nanocomposites functionalized with gold particles : from design to solar hydrogen production Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Advanced Materials Interfaces Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater Interfaces
Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages 1600348
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Hematite-titania nanocomposites, eventually functionalized with gold nanoparticles (NPs), are designed and developed by a plasma-assisted strategy, consisting in: (i) the plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition of -Fe2O3 on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates; the radio frequency-sputtering of (ii) TiO2, and (iii) Au in controlled amounts. A detailed chemicophysical characterization, carried out through a multitechnique approach, reveals that the target materials are composed by interwoven -Fe2O3 dendritic structures, possessing a high porosity and active area. TiO2 introduction results in the formation of an ultrathin titania layer uniformly covering Fe2O3, whereas Au sputtering yields a homogeneous dispersion of low-sized gold NPs. Due to the intimate and tailored interaction between the single constituents and their optical properties, the resulting composite materials are successfully exploited for solar-driven applications. In particular, promising photocatalytic performances in H-2 production by reforming of water-ethanol solutions under simulated solar illumination are obtained. The related insights, presented and discussed in this work, can yield useful guidelines to boost the performances of nanostructured photocatalysts for energy-related applications.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000383783200021 Publication Date 2016-07-20
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN (up) 2196-7350; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.279 Times cited 15 Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.279
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:137154 Serial 4389
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Author Gasparotto, A.; Maccato, C.; Sada, C.; Carraro, G.; Kondarides, D.I.; Bebelis, S.; Petala, A.; La Porta, A.; Altantzis, T.; Barreca, D.
Title Controlled Surface Modification of ZnO Nanostructures with Amorphous TiO2for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Type A1 Journal Article
Year 2019 Publication Advanced Sustainable Systems Abbreviated Journal Adv. Sustainable Syst.
Volume Issue Pages 1900046
Keywords A1 Journal Article; Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) ;
Abstract The utilization of solar radiation to trigger photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has gained interest for sustainable energy production. In this study, attention is focused on the development of ZnO–TiO2 nanocomposite photoanodes. The target systems are obtained by growing porous arrays of highly crystalline, elongated ZnO nanostructures on indium tin oxide (ITO) by chemical vapor deposition. Subsequently, the obtained nanodeposits are functionalized with TiO2 via radio frequency-sputtering for different process durations, and subjected to final annealing in air. Characterization results demonstrate the successful formation of high purity composite systems in which the surface of ZnO nanostructures is decorated by ultra-small amounts of amorphous titania, whose content can be conveniently tailored as a function of deposition time. Photocurrent density measurements in sunlight triggered water splitting highlight a remarkable performance enhancement with respect to single-phase zinc and titanium oxides, with up to a threefold photocurrent increase compared to bare ZnO. These results, mainly traced back to the formation of ZnO/TiO2 heterojunctions yielding an improved photocarrier separation, show that the target nanocomposites are attractive photoanodes for efficient PEC water splitting.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date 2019-06-03
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN (up) 2366-7486 ISBN Additional Links
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes This work was financially supported by Padova University DOR 2016–2019, P-DiSC #03BIRD2016-UNIPD, and #03BIRD2018-UNIPD projects and ACTION post-doc fellowship. A.G. acknowledges AMGAFoundation and INSTM Consortium. T.A. acknowledges a postdoctoral grant from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium). Thanks are also due to Dr. Sebastiano Pianta (Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, Italy) for experimental assistance. Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number EMAT @ emat @ Serial 5186
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Author Bigiani, L.; Gasparotto, A.; Andreu, T.; Verbeeck, J.; Sada, C.; Modin, E.; Lebedev, O.I.; Morante, J.R.; Barreca, D.; Maccato, C.
Title Au-manganese oxide nanostructures by a plasma-assisted process as electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution : a chemico-physical investigation Type A1 Journal article
Year 2020 Publication Advanced sustainable systems Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 2000177-11
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Earth-abundant and eco-friendly manganese oxides are promising platforms for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water electrolysis. Herein, a versatile and potentially scalable route to gold-decorated manganese oxide-based OER electrocatalysts is reported. In particular, MnxOy(MnO2, Mn2O3) host matrices are grown on conductive glasses by plasma assisted-chemical vapor deposition (PA-CVD), and subsequently functionalized with gold nanoparticles (guest) as OER activators by radio frequency (RF)-sputtering. The final selective obtainment of MnO2- or Mn2O3-based systems is then enabled by annealing under oxidizing or inert atmosphere, respectively. A detailed material characterization evidences the formation of high-purity Mn(x)O(y)dendritic nanostructures with an open morphology and an efficient guest dispersion into the host matrices. The tailoring of Mn(x)O(y)phase composition and host-guest interactions has a remarkable influence on OER activity yielding, for the best performing Au/Mn(2)O(3)system, a current density of approximate to 5 mA cm(-2)at 1.65 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and an overpotential close to 300 mV at 1 mA cm(-2). Such results, comparing favorably with literature data on manganese oxide-based materials, highlight the importance of compositional control, as well as of surface and interface engineering, to develop low-cost and efficient anode nanocatalysts for water splitting applications.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000572376000001 Publication Date 2020-09-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN (up) 2366-7486 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.1 Times cited 4 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes ; Padova University (DOR 2017-2019 and P-DiSC #03BIRD2018-UNIPD OXYGENA projects), as well as the INSTM Consortium (INSTMPD004 – NETTUNO project) and AMGA Foundation (Mn4Energy project), are gratefully acknowledged for financial support. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope was partially funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. J.V. acknowledges funding from a GOA project “Solarpaint” from the University of Antwerp and from EU H2020 823717 ESTEEM3 project. The authors thank Dr. Daniele Valbusa, Dr. Gianluca Corr, Dr. Andrea Gallo, and Dr. Dileep Khrishnan for helpful experimental assistance. ; esteem3TA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 7.1; 2020 IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:171937 Serial 6457
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