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The current approaches to electrochemically synthesizing valve metal-derived nanochannel films with longitudinal nanospaces aligned at a right angle to planar substrates rely on highly toxic fluoride compounds and require severe reaction conditions. Herein, we report on a fluoride-free, room-temperature electrochemical synthesis of a genuine mesoporous niobia thin film from the parent metal. The electrochemical reaction is driven by only a 1 V bias with respect to a Pt counter electrode in an aqueous solution. The solution contained an inexpensive, less toxic potassium hydroxide, and the reaction produced favorable byproducts, namely, recyclable K8Nb6O19 and H2.

Semiconductor nanowires with both nano- and micrometre dimensions have been used as effective materials for artificial photosynthesis; however, a single synthesis approach to provide rational control over the macroscopic morphology, which can allow for the high-throughput screening of photocatalytic performance, and carrier transfer between oxide and sulphide nanostructures has been poorly known. Our recent findings indicate that a single parameter, Nb foil thickness, in a vapor-phase synthesis method can alter the macroscopic morphology of resulting Nb2O5 nanowires. Thick Nb foil results in a free-standing Nb2O5 film, whereas a thinner foil leads to fragmentation to give a powder. During the synthesis process, a Rh dopant was provided through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition to reduce the Nb2O5 energy gap. Upon irradiation with visible light (λ > 440 nm), the free-standing nanowire film [Nb2O5:Rh-NW(F)] showed photoanodic current with a Faradaic efficiency of 99% for O2 evolution. Under identical irradiation conditions, the powdered counterpart [Nb2O5:Rh-NW(P)] showed activity for O2 evolution in the presence of an electron acceptor. The poor water-reduction ability was greatly enhanced by the Au-catalysed vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of H2-evolving CdS onto the reduction sites of Nb2O5:Rh-NW(P) [Au/CdS/Nb2O5:Rh-NW(P)].

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