Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering (한국표면공학회지)

The Korean Institute of Surface Engineering (한국표면공학회)
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Cu2O Thin Film Photoelectrode Embedded with CuO Nanorods for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

  • Kim, Soyoung (Graduate School of Advanced Circuit Substrate Engineering, Chungnam National University) ;
  • Kim, Hyojin (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University)
  • Received : 2019.10.24
  • Accepted : 2019.10.31
  • Published : 2019.10.31
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Abstract

Assembling heterostructures by combining dissimilar oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to enhance charge separation and transfer in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, the CuO nanorods array/$Cu_2O$ thin film bilayered heterostructure was successfully fabricated by a facile method that involved a direct electrodeposition of the $Cu_2O$ thin film onto the vertically oriented CuO nanorods array to serve as the photoelectrode for the PEC water oxidation. The resulting copper-oxide-based heterostructure photoelectrode exhibited an enhanced PEC performance compared to common copper-oxide-based photoelectrodes, indicating good charge separation and transfer efficiency due to the band structure realignment at the interface. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency obtained on the CuO nanorods/$Cu_2O$ thin film heterostructure were $0.59mA/cm^2$ and 1.10% at 1.06 V vs. RHE, respectively. These results provide a promising route to fabricating earth-abundant copper-oxide-based photoelectrode for visible-light-driven hydrogen generation using a facile, low-cost, and scalable approach of combining electrodeposition and hydrothermal synthesis.

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References

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