TiO2/CuPc/NiFe-LDH photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising approach for renewable hydrogen production. However, the practical PEC solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency is still low owing to poor light absorption and rapid recombination of charge carriers in photoelectrode. In this work, we report a ternary photoanode with simultaneously enhancement of light absorption and water oxidation efficiency by introducing copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and nickel iron-layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) on TiO2 (denoted as TiO2/CuPc/NiFe-LDH). An experimental study reveals that CuPc loading on TiO2 bring strong visible light absorption; NiFe-LDH as an oxygen evolution reaction catalyst efficiently accelerates the surface water oxidation reaction. This synergistic effect of CuPc and NiFe-LDH gives enhanced photocurrent density (2.10 mA/cm(2) at 0.6 V vs. SCE) and excellent stability in the ternary TiO2/CuPc/NiFeLDH photoanode. (C) 2020 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A ternary photoanode TiO2/CuPc/NiFe-LDH is reported in this study, which shows enhanced light absorption and water oxidation efficiency. The synergistic effect of CuPc and NiFe-LDH significantly improves the photocurrent density and stability of the photoanode.