Few-Layer P 4 O 2: A Promising Photocatalyst for Water Splitting

Baichuan Lu, Xiaoyan Zheng*, Zesheng Li

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Photocatalytic water splitting by a two-dimensional material is a promising technology for producing clean and renewable energy. Development of this field requires candidate materials with desirable optoelectronic properties. Here, we present a detailed theoretical investigation of the atomic and electronic structure of few-layer P 4 O 2 systems to predict their optoelectronic properties. We predict that the three-layer P 4 O 2 with normal packing (α-3), ingeniously combining all desired optoelectronic features, is an ideal candidate for photocatalytic water splitting. It fascinatingly bears nearly a direct band gap (1.40 eV), appropriate band edge position, high solar-to-hydrogen efficiency (17.15%), high sunlight absorption efficiency, and ultrahigh carrier mobility (21 460 cm 2 V -1 s -1 ) at room temperature. These results make three-layer P 4 O 2 a promising candidate for photocatalytic water splitting.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10163-10170
Number of pages8
JournalACS applied materials & interfaces
Volume11
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Mar 2019

Keywords

  • carrier mobility
  • first-principle calculations
  • phosphorus oxide
  • photocatalytic water splitting
  • two-dimensional materials

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