Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Electrospun β-Ga2O3 Nanofibers via In-Situ Si Doping Using Tetraethyl Orthosilicate

Abstract

β-Ga2O3 has attracted considerable attention as an alternative photocatalyst to replace conventional TiO2 under ultraviolet-C irradiation due to its high reduction and oxidation potential. In this study, to enhance the photocatalytic activity of β-Ga2O3, nanofibers are formed via the electrospinning method, and Si atoms are subsequently doped. As the Si concentration in the β-Ga2O3 nanofiber increases, the optical bandgap of the β-Ga2O3 nanofibers continuously decreases from 4.5 eV (intrinsic) to 4.0 eV for the Si-doped (2.4 at. %) β-Ga2O3 nanofibers, and accordingly, the photocatalytic activity of the β-Ga2O3 nanofibers is enhanced. This higher photocatalytic performance with Si doping is attributed to the increased doping-induced carriers in the conduction band edges. This differs from the traditional mechanism in which the doping-induced defect sites in the bandgap enhance separation and inhibit the recombination of photon-generated carriers.