Zeng X, Gao Q, Song P, Zhang X, Xie J, Dong Q, Qi J, Xing XS, Du J. Integration of a Cu
2O/ZnO heterojunction and Ag@SiO
2 into a photoanode for enhanced solar water oxidation.
RSC Adv 2024;
14:4568-4574. [PMID:
38312728 PMCID:
PMC10836412 DOI:
10.1039/d3ra07738a]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC-WS) has attracted considerable attention owing to its low energy consumption and sustainable nature. Constructing semiconductor heterojunctions with controllable band structure can effectively facilitate photogenerated carrier separation. In this study, a FTO/ZnO/Cu2O/Ag@SiO2 photoanode with a Cu2O/ZnO p-n heterojunction and Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles is constructed to investigate its PEC-WS performance. Compared with a bare ZnO photoanode, the photocurrent density of the FTO/ZnO/Cu2O/Ag@SiO2 photoanode (0.77 mA cm-2) at 1.23 VRHE exhibits an increment of 88%, and a cathodic shift of 0.1 V for the on-set potential (0.4 VRHE). Detailed photoelectrochemical analyses reveal that the Cu2O/ZnO p-n heterojunction formed between Cu2O and ZnO can effectively promote photogenerated carrier separation. The surface plasmonic effect of the Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles can further promote the photogenerated carrier transfer efficiency, which synergistically improves the PEC-WS performance.
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