Description
Abstract
Organic donor-accepter nanoparticles are promising photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution. Their performance is determined not only by the donor and accepter materials, but also by the composition of the nanoparticles surface, where the photocatalytic reactions occur. The distribution of donor and acceptor materials at the surface, together with presence of surfactant molecules, can strongly influence the surface chemistry and the electronic properties of the nanoparticles.
In this work, PIDT-T8BT:Y6 NPs were prepared by the miniemulsions method using 2-(3-thienyl) ethyloxybutylsulfonate (TEBS) as the surfactant. The surface composition was investigated using Neutral Impact Collision Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (NICISS), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), while particle size, morphology and film coverage were characterised using dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
The combined NICISS and XPS measurements reveal that the PIDT-T8BT:Y6 NPs surface is enrich with TEBS and Y6, while PIDT-T8BT is largely absent from the outer surface. The information obtained from both techniques provide a more complete understanding of the surface composition of PIDT-T8BT:Y6 NPs.
These findings improve the understanding of surface composition of PIDT-T8BT:Y6 NPs and provide an overview of for the design of organic-inorganic photocatalytic systems for hydrogen and oxygen evolutions.
| I am the presenting author | Yes |
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