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Mechanism of photocatalytic water oxidation on small TiO2 nanoparticles

Muuronen, M; Parker, SM; Berardo, E; Le, A; Zwijnenburg, MA; Furche, F; (2017) Mechanism of photocatalytic water oxidation on small TiO2 nanoparticles. Chemical Science , 8 (3) pp. 2179-2183. 10.1039/c6sc04378j. Green open access

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Abstract

We present the first unconstrained nonadiabatic molecular dynamics (NAMD) simulations of photocatalytic water oxidation by small hydrated TiO2 nanoparticles using Tully surface hopping and time-dependent density functional theory. The results indicate that ultrafast electron–proton transfer from physisorbed water to the photohole initiates the photo-oxidation on the S1 potential energy surface. The new mechanism readily explains the observation of mobile hydroxyl radicals in recent experiments. Two key driving forces for the photo-oxidation reaction are identified: localization of the electron–hole pair and stabilization of the photohole by hydrogen bonding interaction. Our findings illustrate the scope of recent advances in NAMD methods and emphasize the importance of explicit simulation of electronic excitations.

Type: Article
Title: Mechanism of photocatalytic water oxidation on small TiO2 nanoparticles
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1039/c6sc04378j
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c6sc04378j
Language: English
Additional information: Open Access Article. Published on 07 December 2016. Downloaded on 10/07/2017 11:37:40. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence
Keywords: Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, Multidisciplinary, Chemistry, AQUEOUS SURROUNDINGS, MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS, OXYGEN EVOLUTION, RUTILE, ANATASE, PHOTOOXIDATION, SURFACE, TITANIA, ELECTRODES
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1550540
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