ZnO/In2S3/Co–Pi ternary composite photoanodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical properties

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 30; no. 20; pp. 18943 - 18949
• Main Authors: Fang, Guozhen, Liu, Zhifeng, Han, Changcun, Cai, Qijun, Ma, Chonghao, Tong, Zhengfu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical elements; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Electromagnetic absorption; Energy; Heterojunctions; Hydrogen; Light; Materials Science; Morphology; Nanorods; Nanostructured materials; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photoanodes; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric emission; Separation; Spectrum analysis; Water splitting; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-019-02251-7

The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting properties can be enhanced by broadening the light absorption region and improving the separation of photogenerated carriers. In this paper, a novel ZnO/In 2 S 3 /Co–Pi ternary composite photoanode system is provided, by building the ZnO/In 2 S 3 heterojunction to broaden the light absorption region and improve the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron–hole pairs in bulk, and by using the Co–Pi cocatalyst to increase the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs between the ZnO/In 2 S 3 heterojunction surface and electrolyte. This ternary composite photoanode system exhibits a negative shifted onset potential and a higher photocurrent density of about 2.4 mA/cm 2 at 1.23 V (vs. RHE), which is 3 and 2.18 times compared with bare ZnO nanorod and ZnO/In 2 S 3 heterojunction, respectively. The results show that the ZnO/In 2 S 3 /Co–Pi ternary composite photoanode has an excellent potential application for PEC water splitting.