Improving the Efficiency of Gallium Telluride for Photocatalysis, Electrocatalysis, and Chemical Sensing through Defects Engineering and Interfacing with its Native Oxide

Bondino F., Duman S., Nappini S., D'Olimpio G., Ghica C., Mazzola F., ...Daha Fazla

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, cilt.32, sa.41, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 32 Sayı: 41
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1002/adfm.202205923
  • Dergi Adı: ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: gallium telluride, hydrogen evolution reaction, DFT calculations, nanospectroscopy, surface science, THIN-FILM, GATE, ANISOTROPY, NANOSHEETS, CRYSTALS, GROWTH
  • Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Gallium telluride (GaTe) is a van der Waals semiconductor, currently adopted for photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, the rapid degradation of GaTe in air, promoted by Te vacancies, is detrimental for device applications. Here, it is demonstrate that the surface oxidation of GaTe can be unexpectedly exploited for expanding the breadth of applications of GaTe. Specifically, the formation of a nanoscale sub-stoichiometric wide-band-gap Ga2O3 skin, promoted by Te vacancies, over narrow-band-gap GaTex upon air exposure is beneficial for electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and gas sensing . In particular, the Heyrovsky step (H-ads + H+ + e(-) -> H-2) of hydrogen evolution reaction in an acidic medium is barrier-free for the sub-stoichiometric gallium-oxide/gallium-telluride heterostructure, which also enables a significant reduction of costs with respect to state-of-the-art Pt/C electrodes. In the photocatalytic process, the photo-generated electrons migrate from GaTe to Ga2Ox skin, which acts as the chemically active side of the interface. Moreover, the Ga2O3/GaTe heterostructure is a suitable platform for sensing of H2O, NH3, and NO2 at operational temperatures extended up to 600 degrees C (useful for gas detection in combustion processes), mainly due to the increased area of charge redistribution after adsorption achieved upon oxidation of GaTe.