Premium
Covalent SO Bonding Enables Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Performance of Cu 2 S/Fe 2 O 3 Heterojunction for Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Zhang Yan,
Huang Yuan,
Zhu ShiShi,
Liu YuanYuan,
Zhang Xing,
Wang JianJun,
Braun Artur
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.202100320
Subject(s) - photocurrent , water splitting , heterojunction , oxygen evolution , materials science , reversible hydrogen electrode , covalent bond , hematite , electrochemistry , electrode , photochemistry , nanotechnology , photocatalysis , optoelectronics , chemistry , catalysis , reference electrode , organic chemistry , metallurgy , biochemistry
The severe charge recombination and the sluggish kinetic for oxygen evolution reaction have largely limited the application of hematite (α‐Fe 2 O 3 ) for water splitting. Herein, the construction of Cu 2 S/Fe 2 O 3 heterojunction and discover that the formation of covalent SO bonds between Cu 2 S and Fe 2 O 3 can significantly improve the photoelectrochemical performance and stability for water splitting is reported. Compared with bare Fe 2 O 3 , the heterostructure of Cu 2 S/Fe 2 O 3 endows the resulting electrode with enhanced charge separation and transfer, extended range for light absorption, and reduced charge recombination rate. Additionally, due to the photothermal properties of Cu 2 S, the heterostructure exhibits locally a higher temperature under illumination, profitable for increasing the rate of oxygen evolution reaction. Consequently, the photocurrent density of the heterostructure is enhanced by 177% to be 1.19 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. This work may provide guideline for future in the design and fabrication of highly efficient photoelectrodes for various reactions.