Efficient plasma route to nanostructure materials: case study on the use of m-WO3 for solar water splitting

One of the main challenges in developing highly efficient nanostructured photoelectrodes is to achieve good control over the desired morphology and good electrical conductivity. We present an efficient plasma-processing technique to form porous structures in tungsten substrates. After an optimized two-step annealling procedure, the mesoporous tungsten transforms into photoactive monoclinic WO3. The excellent control over the feature size and good contact between the crystallites obtained with the plasma technique offers an exciting new synthesis route for nanostructured materials for use in processes such as solar water splitting.