Facile Synthesis and Photoelectrochemical Performance of a Bi2S3@rGO Nanocomposite Photoanode for Efficient Water Splitting

Visible-light-active photoelectrodes are more responsive to high-energy conversion efficiency in photoelectro-chemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, we fabricated a bismuth sulfide@reduced graphene oxide (Bi2S3@rGO) nanocomposite photoanode via facile synthetic methods. Typical results show that the Bi2S3@rGO nanocomposite exhibited a high photocurrent density of 6.06 mA cm(-2) and a maximum applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 4.2% at 0.32 V. Moreover, Bi2S3 nanorods have more uniform dispersion on the surface of rGO sheets in the Bi2S3@rGO composite as demonstrated in the transmission electron microscopy images. In addition, photoluminescence and impedance studies reveal the enhanced charge-transfer properties in the Bi2S3@rGO photoelectrode. The enhanced PEC performance of the composite could be attributed to the effective visible-light absorption of Bi2S3 and the good electron-transfer properties of highly conductive rGO nanosheets, facilitating the charge separation and transportation, leading to the inhibition of charge recombination.

Automated summary

The visible-light-active bismuth sulfide@reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite photoanode exhibited high photocurrent density and applied bias photon-to-current efficiency in PEC water splitting, attributed to the effective visible-light absorption of bismuth sulfide and good electron-transfer properties of highly conductive reduced graphene oxide nanosheets, facilitating charge separation and transportation while inhibiting charge recombination.