OERKOP ANR project

Oxygen evolution reaction: the key to optimize photocatalytic water oxidation (01/04/2023 – 31/03/2027)

The ANR OERKOP project aims to understand and describe the mechanisms underlying the OER for co-catalyst modified hematite photoanodes, by using a correlative operando characterization approach at the nanoscale. OERKOP proposes a comparative study between two archetypal materials used as photoanodes: α-Fe₂O₃ and BiVO₄, both catalytically activated by oxyhydroxide catalysts (M-OOH, with M = Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn). Surface kinetics and time stability during the oxidation will be systematically evaluated. We intend combining multi-scale and multi-selective techniques – scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Both techniques will employ a common sample environment in a dedicated photoelectrochemical cell. Complementary DFT calculations will allow dissecting complex effects and determining the reaction priorities of different photocatalytic sites.

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Consortium

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Results dissemination during OERKOP:

• Hematite Reduction upon Ti Doping in Hydrothermally Synthesized Photoanodes, Léon Schmidt; Basile Bataillé; Emma Gaury; Walid Baaziz; Stéphanie Blanchandin; Karine Chaouchi; Stefan Stanescu; Dana Stanescu; Ovidiu Ersen, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. (2026) 9 (13): 7974–7984. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsaem.5c03791
• Scanning transmission X-ray spectromicroscopy: a nanotool to probe hematite nanorods for solar water splitting, Stefan Stanescu, Dana Stanescu, Adam Hitchcock
  • preprint March 2023 https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/articledetails/640de8d7b5d5dbe9e825c049;
  • Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena 265 (2023) 147334, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2023.147334
• Enhancement of the Solar Water Splitting Efficiency Mediated by Surface Segregation in Ti-doped Hematite Nanorods, Stanescu S, Alun T, Dappe YJ, Ihiawakrim D, Ersen O, Stanescu D.
  • preprint February 2023 https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/643c03bc73c6563f14fae441
  • ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c02131  
• Characterizing surface states in hematite nanorod photoanodes, both beneficial and detrimental to solar water splitting efficiency, Dana Stanescu, Mekan Piriyev, Victoria Villard, Cristian Mocuta, Adrien Besson, Dris Ihiawakrim, Ovidiu Ersen, Jocelyne Leroy, Sorin G. Chiuzbaian, Adam P. Hitchcock, Stefan Stanescu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 20513-20530, https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TA06524B; hal-02934466

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HAL:

https://anr.hal.science/search/index/?q=*&anrProjectReference_s=ANR-22-CE50-0033

Highlights:

2023 : Des matériaux simples et abondants pour une énergie future propre et efficace :

• Sur le site internet du synchrotron Soleil
• Sur le site internet du CEA-Iramis

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