Optimization of photoelectrochemical performance in chemical bath deposited nanostructured CuO

Autor: Indrajit Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Ray, Shinji Kawasaki, Utkarsh Prakash, Ranjan K. Pati, Yoshiyuki Hattori, Yosuke Ishii
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Alloys and Compounds. 695:3655-3665
ISSN: 0925-8388
DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.11.374
Popis: Low cost nanostructured CuO photocathodes are fabricated via simple alkaline bath oxidation of Cu-foil at 60 °C in the presence of (NH 4 ) 2 S 2 O 8 . The structural, morphological, electrical and optical properties of the as-grown CuO film are tuned by calcination in air up to 300 °C in order to enhance its photoelectrochemical performance. The photocathode fabricated by optimization of NaOH concentration (at 150 mM) and calcination temperature (200 °C), produces a photocurrent density of −1.3 mA/cm 2 at 0 V RHE under AM 1.5G simulated solar spectrum in nearly neutral pH (∼6.6) electrolyte. The improvement in photocurrent is attributed to enhanced photogeneration across direct band edges with a most appropriate gap of 1.55 eV instead of its inherent indirect band gap nature. The photocathode can be employed in photoelectrochemical energy conversion as well as photo-reduction of water by adopting a suitable corrosion protection scheme.
Databáze: OpenAIRE