Chinese Journal of Catalysis

Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (10): 1408-1420.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63399-1

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A review on tungsten-trioxide-based photoanodes for water oxidation

Jingwei Huanga,b, Pengfei Yuea, Lei Wanga, Houde Shea, Qizhao Wanga,c,d   

  1. a College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Research Center of Gansu Military and Civilian Integration Advanced Structural Materials, Gansu International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Water-Retention Chemical Functional Materials, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China;
    b Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, Guangdong, China;
    c Key Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, Heilongjiang, China;
    d School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710064, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2019-03-13 Revised:2019-04-11 Online:2019-10-18 Published:2019-08-26
  • Supported by:
    This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21808189, 21663027), the Science and Technology Support Project of Gansu Province (1504GKCA027), the Program for Innovative Research Team (NWNULKQN-15-2), the Opening Project of Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control (GKLECPC-12), and the Opening Project of Key Laboratory of Green Catalysis of Sichuan Institutes of High Education (LYJ18205).

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Abstract: Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting capable of reducing and oxidizing water into hydrogen and oxygen in a generation mode of spatial separation has gained extensive popularity. In order to effectively produce hydrogen at the photocathode of a PEC cell, the photoanode, where the oxygen evolution reaction occurs, should be systematically developed on priority. In particular, WO3 has been identified as one of the most promising photoanode materials owing to its narrow band gap and high valence band position. Its practical implementation, however, is still limited by excessive electron-hole recombination and poor water oxidation kinetics. This review presents the various strategies that have been studied for enhancing the PEC water oxidation performance of WO3, such as controlling the morphology, introducing defects, constructing a heterojunction, loading a cocatalyst, and exploiting the plasmonic effect. In addition, the possible future research directions are presented.

Key words: WO3 photoanode, Water splitting, Defect, Heterojunction, Cocatalyst