Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (7): 1010-1023.DOI: 10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.240031

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The Properties of Narrow Bandgap β-CuFeO2 Ferroelectric Photocatalysts and Surface Oxygen Evolution Reaction Characteristics

Dong-Hao LYU1,2, Lan-Lan XU1, Xiao-Juan LIU1,2()   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resources Utilization,Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Changchun 130022,China
    2.University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei 230026,China
  • Received:2024-01-30 Accepted:2024-05-07 Published:2024-07-01 Online:2024-08-03
  • Contact: Xiao-Juan LIU
  • About author:lxjuan@ciac.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(U2130114);the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province(YDZJ202201ZYS378)

Abstract:

Delafossite CuFeO2 is widely used in the field of photocatalysis due to its narrow band gap and easy availability, while the photogenerated carriers are easy to compound due to its centrosymmetric layered structure, limiting its photocatalytic effect. In view of this, this paper focuses on another configuration of CuFeO2, namely β-CuFeO2, which is an intrinsic ferroelectric semiconductor with phase stability, narrow band gap, and strong polarization. We construct the [011] surface with alternating arrangement of photogenerated electron and hole generation sites, which promotes charges separation under the action of ferroelectric built-in electric field to enhance the photocatalytic performance. Based on first-principles calculations, this study identified β-CuFeO2 as a direct bandgap semiconductor with thermodynamic stability, a C-type antiferromagnetism in the magnetic ground state, and the bandgap size of 1.37 eV, with a theoretical ferroelectric polarization intensity of 83.46 μC/cm2, which is a good photocatalyst carrier. Further, using the surface oxygen precipitation reaction (OER) as a model, unpolarized direction surfaces [100], [010] and polarized direction surfaces [001], [011] were constructed to investigate the effect of ferroelectric polarization on the OER. The results show that the surface Valance Band Maximum (VBM) redox potential of β-CuFeO2 is mostly more than the water oxidation potential (1.23 eV) and the polarized surface is easier to form. In addition, the [011] surface with fully exposed Cu-O atoms and alternating layers of Cu, Fe atoms in the polarization direction is the most susceptible to adsorption of water molecules and has the optimal OER catalytic activity. The electronic structure analysis of the rate-determining step for the OER on the [011] surface reveals that there are two electron pockets on the *O intermediate, and one electron pocket is consumed after the reaction to produce *OOH. This is the intrinsic mechanism of the OER rate-determining step on the polarization direction [011] surface. β?-CuFeO2 ferroelectric semiconductor was constructed in this work and its basic properties were calculated by theoretical simulations, and different directions of surfaces were constructed to study the effect of ferroelectric polarization on the photocatalytic OER activity, which will provide a new perspective for the design of ferroelectric photocatalysts.

Key words: β?-CuFeO2, First-principles calculation, DFT, Photocatalysts, Oxygen evolution reaction, Ferroelectric polarization

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