Open AccessEnhanced solar water splitting using plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer and unidirectional charge carrier transport
Author(s) -
Huaping Jia,
Yat Lam Wong,
Bingzhe Wang,
Guichuan Xing,
Chi Chung Tsoi,
Meiling Wang,
Wendong Zhang,
Aoqun Jian,
Shengbo Sang,
Dangyuan Lei,
Xuming Zhang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.440777
Subject(s) - materials science , water splitting , photocathode , surface plasmon resonance , optoelectronics , non blocking i/o , colloidal gold , visible spectrum , solar energy , plasmon , charge carrier , optics , nanoparticle , electron , nanotechnology , photocatalysis , chemistry , physics , ecology , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , catalysis , biology
Solar water splitting by photoelectrochemical (PEC) reactions is promising for hydrogen production. The gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are often applied to promote the visible response of wideband photocatalysts. However, in a typical TiO 2 /AuNPs structure, the opposite transfer direction of excited electrons between AuNPs and TiO 2 under visible light and UV light severely limits the solar PEC performance. Here we present a unique Pt/TiO 2 /Cu 2 O/NiO/AuNPs photocathode, in which the NiO hole transport layer (HTL) is inserted between AuNPs and Cu 2 O to achieve unidirectional transport of charge carriers and prominent plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET) between AuNPs and Cu 2 O. The measured applied bias photon-to-current efficiency and the hydrogen production rate under AM 1.5G illumination can reach 1.5% and 16.4 μmol·cm -2 ·h -1 , respectively. This work is original in using the NiO film as the PIRET spacer and provides a promising photoelectrode for energy-efficient solar water splitting.