Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of In2O3 nanocubes with oxygen vacancies via hydrogenation

In recent years, the favorable effect of oxygen vacancies on photoelectrochemical performance has been observed in various metal oxides except In2O3 and little attention has been paid to the photoelectrochemical properties of hydrogenated In2O3 nanostructures. In this work, oxygen vacancies were introduced into In2O3 nanocubes via hydrogenation. The formation of oxygen vacancies was verified by a variety of characterization techniques. Compared to the pristine In2O3 nanocubes, the hydrogenated In2O3 nanocubes exhibited substantially higher photoelectrochemical performance. The enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of hydrogenated In2O3 nanocubes could be attributed to the increased optical absorption, more donor density and the efficient charge transfer and separation of photo-induced charge carrier derived from oxygen vacancies.