Construction of TiN/TiO2 Composite Photoanodes and the Plasmonic Photothermal Effect of TiN

doi:10.15541/jim20250483

Abstract

Abstract:

TiN nanoparticles exhibit significant plasmonic photothermal properties, yet their role within TiN/TiO₂ composite photoanodes remains unclear. In this work, TiN nanoparticles were controllably synthesized via a Sol-Gel method using urea as the nitrogen source. A series of TiN/TiO₂ composite photoanodes were fabricated by adjusting the spin-coating volume of the TiN dispersion. The results show that TiN nanoparticles with size in the range of 10-30 nm can be obtained by controlling the urea/TiCl₄ molar ratio to 8. The TiN/TiO₂ composite photoelectrode, fabricated by spin-coating 200 μL of 2% (in mass) ethanol dispersion of these nanoparticles, achieves a photocurrent density of 1.47 mA·cm^-2 and an open-circuit photovoltage of 0.69 V under simulated solar illumination, enhanced by 75% and 57%, respectively, compared to pristine TiO₂ photoelectrode, and the electrode maintains stable performance for over 3 h. Introduction of TiN enhances visible light absorption of material. Therefore, under illumination, TiN nanoparticles undergo rapid heating, and the generated heat is efficiently transferred to the TiO₂ substrate, promoting interfacial charge transfer and surface reaction kinetics. These findings demonstrate that the photothermal effect of TiN can elevate the local temperature at the photoelectrode surface, thereby enhancing photoelectrochemical water splitting performance.

Key words: TiN nanomaterial, Sol-Gel method, TiN/TiO₂ composite photoanode, photoelectrochemistry, plasmonic photothermal effect

CLC Number:

TQ116

LI Yangyang, SANG Lixia, CHEN Mengjia, DU Chunxu. Construction of TiN/TiO₂ Composite Photoanodes and the Plasmonic Photothermal Effect of TiN[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2026, 41(9): 1229-1237.

Figures/Tables 8

Table 1 Parameter design of composite photoanodes

Sample	Urea/TiCl₄ (in molar)	TiN dispersion/μL
TiN4/TiO₂-100	4	100
TiN6/TiO₂-100	6	100
TiN8/TiO₂-100	8	100
TiN10/TiO₂-100	10	100
TiN8/TiO₂-200	8	200
TiN8/TiO₂-300	8	300

Fig. 1 XRD patterns of TiNR

Fig. 2 (a) Top-view and cross-sectional (inset) SEM images of the TiO2 nanorod array; (b) TEM image of TiN8; SEM images of (c-e) TiN8/TiO2-x composite photoanodes; (f) Energy dispersive spectrum and corresponding elemental mappings of Ti, O, and N for TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode (c) TiN8/TiO2-100; (d) TiN8/TiO2-200; (e) TiN8/TiO2-300

Fig. 3 (a) J-t curves of TiNR/TiO2-100; (b) J-t curves of the pristine TiO2 photoanode and TiN8/TiO2-x; (c) J stability test of the TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode under illumination

Fig. 4 (a) Eoc-t curves of pristine TiO2 and TiN8/TiO2-x composite photoanodes; (b) UV-Vis absorption spectra of TiN8, pristine TiO2 and TiN8/TiO2-x composite photoanodes; (c) J-Eapp curves and (d) ABPE curves of TiO2 nanorod photoanode and TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode

Fig. 5 Infrared thermal images of pristine TiO2 nanorod photoanode and TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode under simulated solar illumination Colorful figure is available on website

Fig. 6 (a) Temperature-time curves and (b-d) schematic diagrams of the simplified photothermal model for TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode(b) Structural side view; (c) Isothermal distribution; (d) Conductive heat flux. Colorful figures are available on website

Fig. 7 Temporal temperature field simulation results of TiN8/TiO2-200 composite photoanode equivalent model Colorful figure is available on website

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Construction of TiN/TiO₂ Composite Photoanodes and the Plasmonic Photothermal Effect of TiN

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