TY - JOUR
T1 - Computational identification of efficient 2D Aluminium chalcogenides monolayers for optoelectronics and photocatalysts applications
AU - Haman, Zakaryae
AU - Khossossi, Nabil
AU - Kibbou, Moussa
AU - Bouziani, Ilyas
AU - Singh, Deobrat
AU - Essaoudi, Ismail
AU - Ainane, Abdelmajid
AU - Ahuja, Rajeev
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The massive consumption of traditional fossil fuel like oil, coal and natural gas has led to serious environmental issues, which drove the search for cleaner renewable energy sources. One such option is photocatalytic water splitting that has attracted much attention as a viable process for the large scale production of hydrogen as a renewable fuel. Within this perspective, we methodically studied the structural, optoelectronic, and photocatalytic properties of two-dimensional aluminum monochalcogenide monolayers with the chemical formula AlX (X = O, S, Se, and Te) based on the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT). All considered structures are full relaxed and their thermodynamic stabilities are confirmed by computing the phonon spectrum and Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The electronic characteristics are also performed on the basis of both exchange correlation functional GGA-PBE and HSE06 in order to obtain the accurate electronic band gap. According to our calculations, all the four monolayers posses indirect band gaps ranging between 1.937 and 2.46 eV. Furthermore, based on desirable electronic band gaps, the optical performance features were further explored including complex refractive index, absorption coefficient and energy loss function by means of the complex dielectric function. It is found that all the four materials present a high absorption coefficient in the visible and Ultra-Violet regions. Finally, the band edge positions of our monolayers straddle the reduction potential of H2 and the oxidation potential H2O. Also, it was found that the Gibbs free energy of 2D AlO monolayer is 0.02 eV at certain applied external electric field and very close to ideal catalysts which suggest that the AlO monolayer is better candidate for hydrogen production. Our findings demonstrate that AlX monolayers are suitable materials for optoelectronics and hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting.
AB - The massive consumption of traditional fossil fuel like oil, coal and natural gas has led to serious environmental issues, which drove the search for cleaner renewable energy sources. One such option is photocatalytic water splitting that has attracted much attention as a viable process for the large scale production of hydrogen as a renewable fuel. Within this perspective, we methodically studied the structural, optoelectronic, and photocatalytic properties of two-dimensional aluminum monochalcogenide monolayers with the chemical formula AlX (X = O, S, Se, and Te) based on the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT). All considered structures are full relaxed and their thermodynamic stabilities are confirmed by computing the phonon spectrum and Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The electronic characteristics are also performed on the basis of both exchange correlation functional GGA-PBE and HSE06 in order to obtain the accurate electronic band gap. According to our calculations, all the four monolayers posses indirect band gaps ranging between 1.937 and 2.46 eV. Furthermore, based on desirable electronic band gaps, the optical performance features were further explored including complex refractive index, absorption coefficient and energy loss function by means of the complex dielectric function. It is found that all the four materials present a high absorption coefficient in the visible and Ultra-Violet regions. Finally, the band edge positions of our monolayers straddle the reduction potential of H2 and the oxidation potential H2O. Also, it was found that the Gibbs free energy of 2D AlO monolayer is 0.02 eV at certain applied external electric field and very close to ideal catalysts which suggest that the AlO monolayer is better candidate for hydrogen production. Our findings demonstrate that AlX monolayers are suitable materials for optoelectronics and hydrogen production via photocatalytic water splitting.
KW - 2D aluminum monochalcogenides
KW - Effect of external electric field on photocatalytic activity
KW - Hydrogen evolution reaction
KW - Optoelectronic properties
KW - Photocatalytic activity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104278881&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149561
DO - 10.1016/j.apsusc.2021.149561
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85104278881
SN - 0169-4332
VL - 556
JO - Applied Surface Science
JF - Applied Surface Science
M1 - 149561
ER -