Controllable synthesis of CdS/WO3 heterostructures with enhanced photoelectrochemical performance

With the increasing energy and environmental problems, photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has recently attracted a great deal of attention. Herein, we report the facile synthesis of CdS/WO3 heterostructures as high-performance photoanodes for PEC water splitting. CdS/WO3 heterostructures are successfully prepared on F doped SnO2 glass substrates by a two-step process, which involves a hydrothermal growth and electrochemical deposition process. In comparision to pristine WO3 nanostructures, CdS/WO3 heterostructures exhibit substantially high harvesting ability. The CdS/WO3 heterostructures yield a significant photocurrent density of 1.8 mA cm(-2.) at 0 V vs. Ag/AgCl, which is substantially higher than that of bare WO3 and CdS electrodes. These findings will open up new opportunities to develop other efficient solar-light-driven photocatalytic cells.