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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Amorphous tantalum oxyhydroxide homojunction: In situ construction for enhanced hydrogen production
Nannan Zhang1, Guangshe Li1, Tengfeng Xie2
1State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, PR China.
Abstract:
An amorphous tantalum oxyhydroxide TaOx(OH)y homojunction is constructed by anchoring TaOx(OH)y (2x + y = 5) nanoparticles (NPs, size: 4-10 nm) in situ on the surface of TaOx(OH)y sphere (SP). The formation of amorphous homojunction (TaOx(OH)y NPs/SP) is demonstrated by detailed characterizations of transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis/mass spectrometer, Fourier transfer infrared spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the absence of cocatalyst, the constructed amorphous homojunction exhibits a photocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 311.1 μmol/g/h, about 5, 40 and 1000 times higher than that of 66.8 μmol/g/h for bare TaOx(OH)y SP, 7.6 μmol/g/h for commercial Ta2O5, and 0.3 μmol/g/h for the most widely used photocatalyst P25 (mixed-phase titania). The splendid performance is attributed to the special amorphous homojunction that produces a type-II band alignment and robust separation of photo-excited charge carriers, as uncovered by ultraviolet photoelectron, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and surface/transient photovoltage data. Our findings for amorphous homojunction may provide a new strategy of developing effective noncrystalline photocatalysts.
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