A tantalum nitride (Ta₃N₅) photocatalyst with a bandgap of 2.1 eV and theoretical solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of 15.9% is an extremely promising candidate for solar water splitting, but its intrinsic/extrinsic structure properties such as existence of reduced tantalum species render its present performance to be far from theoretical expectation. Herein, an attempt is made to adopt foreign Sc atoms with similar ionic radius to Ta atoms to modulate the structure and photocatalytic property of Ta₃N₅. Based on detailed characterizations, the partial lattice substitution of Sc to Ta atoms is revealed to be feasible to well inhibit the formation of defect sites and favor enhancement of charge separation and transfer ability. In addition, the Sc ions doping has an unobvious effect on the morphology and size of Ta₃N₅ as well as bandgap structure. Resulting from the promoted charge separation caused by Sc doping and promoted surface catalysis caused by loading of the CoO_x cocatalyst, the photocatalytic water oxidation activity of Ta₃N₅ can be promoted by about one order. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the Sc ions doping strategy in improving the structure and performance of Ta₃N₅, as is expected to be extended to other systems.

中文翻译：

---

Sc离子掺杂对Ta3N5光催化可见水氧化Ta3N5光催化剂结构和性能的影响

具有2.1 eV的带隙和15.9％的理论氢-氢效率的氮化钽（Ta ₃ N ₅）光催化剂是太阳能水分解的极有希望的候选者，但是它的内在/外在结构特性（例如存在还原的钽）物种使其目前的表现与理论预期相去甚远。在本文中，试图采用具有与Ta原子相似的离子半径的外来Sc原子来调节Ta ₃ N ₅的结构和光催化性能。。基于详细的表征，揭示了Sc到Ta原子的部分晶格取代是可行的，可以很好地抑制缺陷位点的形成并有利于增强电荷分离和转移能力。另外，Sc离子的掺杂对Ta ₃ N ₅的形态和尺寸以及带隙结构没有明显的影响。由于由Sc掺杂引起的电荷分离促进和由CoO _x助催化剂的负载引起的表面催化作用的增强，Ta ₃ N ₅的光催化水氧化活性可以提高约一个数量级。结果表明，Sc离子掺杂策略在改善Ta ₃的结构和性能方面是可行的。N ₅，正如预期会扩展到其他系统一样。