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. 2024 Mar 8;17(6):1243.
doi: 10.3390/ma17061243.

Anodizing Tungsten Foil with Ionic Liquids for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Applications

Elianny Da Silva  1 , Ginebra Sánchez-García  1 , Alberto Pérez-Calvo  1 , Ramón M Fernández-Domene  1 , Benjamin Solsona  1 , Rita Sánchez-Tovar  1
Affiliations

Anodizing Tungsten Foil with Ionic Liquids for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Applications

Elianny Da Silva et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

This research examines the influence of adding a commercial ionic liquid to the electrolyte during the electrochemical anodization of tungsten for the fabrication of WO3 nanostructures for photoelectrochemical applications. An aqueous electrolyte composed of 1.5 M methanesulfonic acid and 5% v/v [BMIM][BF4] or [EMIM][BF4] was used. A nanostructure synthesized in an ionic-liquid-free electrolyte was taken as a reference. Morphological and structural studies of the nanostructures were performed via field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. Electrochemical characterization was carried out using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and a Mott-Schottky analysis. From the results, it is highlighted that, by adding either of the two ionic liquids to the electrolyte, well-defined WO3 nanoplates with improved morphological, structural, and electrochemical properties are obtained compared to samples synthesized without ionic liquid. In order to evaluate their photoelectrocatalytic performance, the samples were used as photocatalysts to generate hydrogen by splitting water molecules and in the photoelectrochemical degradation of methyl red dye. In both applications, the nanostructures synthesized with the addition of either of the ionic liquids showed a better performance. These findings confirm the suitability of ionic liquids, such as [BMIM][BF4] and [EMIM][BF4], for the synthesis of highly efficient photoelectrocatalysts via electrochemical anodization.

Keywords: ionic liquid; organic dye degradation; photoelectrocatalysis; tungsten oxide; water splitting.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
UV absorbance spectra of methyl red (inset: relationship obtained between absorbance “y” and methyl red concentration “x” at a wavelength of 517 nm).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Current density curves recorded during electrochemical anodization at 20 V and 50 °C in different electrolytes (with and without IL).
Figure 3
Figure 3
FESEM images of tungsten oxide nanostructures synthesized via electrochemical anodization with different electrolyte solutions (with and without IL).
Figure 4
Figure 4
X-ray diffraction patterns for WO3 nanostructures after anodization in different electrolytes (with and without IL) and magnification of the different monoclinic phase peaks.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Nyquist plots of WO3 nanostructures formed in electrolytes with and without IL (continuous line represents the fitting to the equivalent circuit), (B) Bode module plot of WO3 nanostructures formed in electrolytes with and without IL.
Figure 6
Figure 6
(A) Mott–Schottky plots obtained at a frequency of 5 kHz for WO3 nanostructures anodized with varied ILs. (B) Donor density (ND) calculated from MS plots for the nanostructures synthesized with different ILs.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(A) Photocurrent transient vs. potential of tungsten oxide nanostructures synthesized by electrochemical anodization in different electrolyte solutions (with and without IL). (B) Number of moles of hydrogen generated during the splitting of water molecules.
Figure 8
Figure 8
C/C0 of methyl red as a function of time during its photoelectrochemical degradation using a WO3 nanostructure synthesized with ionic liquid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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