436714 Heterostructured Cu2O/CuO Decorated with Nickel As a Photocathode for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Tuesday, November 10, 2015: 12:55 PM
250F (Salt Palace Convention Center)
Bing Joe Hwang1, Amare Aregahegn Dubale2, Chun-Jern Pan3, Wei-Nien Su4 and Ching-Hsiang Chen2, (1)Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, (2)Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, (3)Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan, (4)Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan

The design, synthesis and characterization of a novel Cu2O/CuO heterojunction decorated with nickel cocatalyst as a highly efficient photocathode for solar hydrogen production was investigated. Due to the heterojunction synergism, the Cu2O/CuO gave a remarkably improved photocurrent density (-2.1 mA/cm2), i.e. 3.1 times higher than a Cu2O photoelectrode. Additionally, the Cu2O/CuO heterojunction, when decorated with nickel cocatalyst, showed six-fold and two-fold increases in photocurrent density (-4.3 mA/cm2) respectively when compared to Cu2O and bare Cu2O/CuO at 0 V vs. RHE. Interestingly, the surface modification with Ni not only effectively promotes water splitting but also stabilizes the photoelectrode. The enhanced photoelectrochemical performance is attributable to the efficient charge transfer and protective role of Ni, the improved crystallinity and the synergism effect of the heterojunction in light absorption and charge separation. This inexpensive photocathode with increased photocurrent density and photostability offers a higher promise for solar hydrogen production.

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See more of this Session: Unconventionals: Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
See more of this Group/Topical: Fuels and Petrochemicals Division