journal article·2023-10Open access

Engineering Sub‐Nanometer Hafnia‐Based Ferroelectrics to Break the Scaling Relation for High‐Efficiency Piezocatalytic Water Splitting

Ran Su, Jiahui Zhang, Vienna Wong, Dawei Zhang, Yong Yang, Zheng‐Dong Luo, Xiaojing Wang, Hui Wen, Yang Liu, Jan Seidel, Xiaolong Yang, Ying Pan, Fa‐tang Li

Advanced Materials· Volume 35· Issue 42

Abstract

Abstract Reversible control of ferroelectric polarization is essential to overcome the heterocatalytic kinetic limitation. This can be achieved by creating a surface with switchable electron density; however, owing to the rigidity of traditional ferroelectric oxides, achieving polarization reversal in piezocatalytic processes remains challenging. Herein, sub‐nanometer‐sized Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) nanowires with a polymer‐like flexibility are synthesized. Oxygen K‐edge X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and negative spherical aberration‐corrected transmission electron microscopy reveal an orthorhombic (Pca21) ferroelectric phase of the HZO sub‐nanometer wires (SNWs). The ferroelectric polarization of the flexible HZO SNWs can be easily switched by slight external vibration, resulting in dynamic modulation of the binding energy of adsorbates and thus breaking the “scaling relationship” during piezocatalysis. Consequently, the as‐synthesized ultrathin HZO nanowires display superb water‐splitting activity, with H2 production rate of 25687 µmol g−1 h−1 under 40 kHz ultrasonic vibration, which is 235 and 41 times higher than those of non‐ferroelectric hafnium oxides and rigid BaTiO3 nanoparticles, respectively. More strikingly, the hydrogen production rates can reach 5.2 µmol g−1 h−1 by addition of stirring exclusively.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ferroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices · Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials · Multiferroics and related materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Hebei Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Control on Surface and Interface College of Science Hebei University of Science and Technology Shijiazhuang 050018 P. R. China

School of Materials Science and Engineering University of New South Wales Australia Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia

ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low‐Energy Electronics Technologies UNSW Sydney Sydney NSW 2052 Australia

State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials Northwestern Polytechnical University Xi'an 710072 P. R. China

State Key Discipline Laboratory of Wide Band Gap Semiconductor Technology School of Microelectronics Xidian University Xi'an 710071 P. R. China

College of Electrical Engineering Hebei University of Science and Technology Shijiazhuang 050018 P. R. China

School of Materials Science and Engineering State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology Huazhong University of Science and Technology Wuhan 430074 P. R. China

College of Physics & Chongqing Key Laboratory for Strongly Coupled Physics Center of Quantum Materials and Devices Chongqing University Chongqing 401331 P. R. China

Department of Chemistry University of Paderborn 33098 Paderborn Germany

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province · Australian Research Council

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