Metal vacancies in semiconductor oxides enhance hole mobility for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

IF 42.8 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL Nature Catalysis Pub Date : 2025-02-25 DOI:10.1038/s41929-025-01300-1

Jun Wang, Kang Liu, Wanru Liao, Yicui Kang, Hanrui Xiao, Yingkang Chen, Qiyou Wang, Tao Luo, Jiawei Chen, Hongmei Li, Ting-Shan Chan, Shanyong Chen, Evangelina Pensa, Liyuan Chai, Fangyang Liu, Liangxing Jiang, Changxu Liu, Junwei Fu, Emiliano Cortés, Min Liu

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Abstract

Achieving efficient carrier separation in transition-metal-oxide semiconductors is crucial for their applications in optoelectronic and catalytic devices. However, the substantial disparity in mobility between holes and electrons heavily limits device performance. Here we develop a general strategy for enhancing hole mobility via reducing their effective mass through metal vacancy (V_M) management. The introduction of V_M yields remarkable improvements in hole mobility: 430% for WO₃, 350% for TiO₂ and 270% for Bi₂O₃. To illustrate the importance of this finding, we applied the V_M concept to photoelectrochemical water splitting, where efficient carrier separation is highly coveted. In particular, V_M-WO₃ achieves a 4.4-fold enhancement in photo-to-current efficiency, yielding a performance of 4.8 mA cm⁻² for both small- and large-scale photoelectrodes with exceptional stability for over 120 h.

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来源期刊

Nature Catalysis Chemical Engineering-Bioengineering

CiteScore

52.10

自引率

1.10%

发文量

140

期刊介绍： Nature Catalysis serves as a platform for researchers across chemistry and related fields, focusing on homogeneous catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis, and biocatalysts, encompassing both fundamental and applied studies. With a particular emphasis on advancing sustainable industries and processes, the journal provides comprehensive coverage of catalysis research, appealing to scientists, engineers, and researchers in academia and industry. Maintaining the high standards of the Nature brand, Nature Catalysis boasts a dedicated team of professional editors, rigorous peer-review processes, and swift publication times, ensuring editorial independence and quality. The journal publishes work spanning heterogeneous catalysis, homogeneous catalysis, and biocatalysis, covering areas such as catalytic synthesis, mechanisms, characterization, computational studies, nanoparticle catalysis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, environmental catalysis, asymmetric catalysis, and various forms of organocatalysis.

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