Catalytic splitting of water at room temperature?
When investigating the mechanism of epitaxial growth of rutile fibres, the authors of the study found that this nanostructured material spontaneously dissociates water. This is the first case of so-called spontaneous dissociative interactions between mineral surfaces and water, which opens up a new research direction in the field of catalytic water splitting to meet the world's growing need for clean energy.
As the authors of this discovery show, the secret of this phenomenon lies in the strong surface interactions between rutile and water that take place at the quantum-confined mineral–water interface of two fibres that are in a special structural relationship with each other. In studying the self-assembly and growth of rutile fibres from hydrothermal solutions, a series of syntheses to induce twinning of rutile crystals revealed unusual fibrous structures that are extremely interesting due to the unusual crystallographic translation. The authors were able to explain these shifts by modelling and quantum chemical calculations of the hydroxylation and proton transfer mechanisms at the surface. It was shown that the water present between the translated fibres dissociates spontaneously. The original research was the subject of Vanja Jordan's doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Aleksander Rečnik from the Department of Nanostructured Materials at the Jožef Stefan Institute. The quantum chemical calculations that led to the explanation of the phenomenon were contributed by Dr. Vesna Ribić from the University of Belgrade. Prof. Janez Kovač from the Department of Surface Technology and Optoelectronics, Dr. Sandra Drev from the Centre for Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis and prof. Goran Dražić from the Department of Materials Chemistry at the National Institute of Chemistry contributed with their expertise to this work. The authors published the article 'Mnemonic rutile–rutile interfaces triggering spontaneous dissociation of water' in the prestigious scientific journal Advanced Materials published by Wiley. The journal's editorial board selected the article in the categories 'Editor's choice' and 'Hot topic' in the field of photocatalytic water splitting.
Vesna Ribić, Vanja Jordan, Sandra Drev, Janez Kovač, Goran Dražić and Aleksander Rečnik, Mnemonic Rutile–Rutile Interfaces Triggering Spontaneous Dissociation of Water, Advanced Materials, Vol 35, Iss 50, December 2023, 2308027, 1 - 36
Link to the article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202308027
More information: goran.drazic(at)ki.si