Sol-gel deposited Cu2O and CuO thin films for photocatalytic water splitting
Sol-gel deposited Cu2O and CuO thin films for photocatalytic water splitting
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DOI：
10.1039/c4cp03241a
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发表时间：
2014-01-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Chi, Dongzhi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lim, Yee-Fun;Chua, Chin Sheng;Chi, Dongzhi
Cu2O和CuO由于富含稀土和成本低廉，是一种有吸引力的光催化分解水材料。本文报道了用溶胶-凝胶旋涂法制备Cu2O和CuO薄膜。Sol-Gel沉积具有溶液处理成本低、大面积均匀成膜、化学计量比精确、厚度可控等独特优点。采用500℃氮气和空气中的热退火方法分别制备了纯Cu2O和CuO薄膜。在光电化学(PEC)电池中成功地将这些薄膜作为光电阴极，在0.05V电压下获得了-0.28 mA cm(-2)和-0.35 mA cm(-2)的光电流(对于Cu2O和CuO)，而对于可逆氢电极(RHE)。掺入一层NiOX助催化剂后，Cu2O的光电流提高到-0.47 mA cm(-2)。初步的稳定性研究表明，CuO可能比Cu2O更稳定地作为PEC裂水的光电阴极。
Cu2O and CuO are attractive photocatalytic materials for water splitting due to their earth abundance and low cost. In this paper, we report the deposition of Cu2O and CuO thin films by a sol-gel spin-coating process. Sol-gel deposition has distinctive advantages such as low-cost solution processing and uniform film formation over large areas with a precise stoichiometry and thickness control. Pure-phase Cu2O and CuO films were obtained by thermal annealing at 500 degrees C in nitrogen and ambient air, respectively. The films were successfully incorporated as photocathodes in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell, achieving photocurrents of -0.28 mA cm(-2) and -0.35 mA cm(-2) (for Cu2O and CuO, respectively) at 0.05 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The Cu2O photocurrent was enhanced to -0.47 mA cm(-2) upon incorporation of a thin layer of a NiOx co- catalyst. Preliminary stability studies indicate that CuO may be more stable than Cu2O as a photocathode for PEC water-splitting.