Hierarchical Cu2O photocathodes with nano/microspheres for solar hydrogen generation

被引：54
作者：
Hsu, Yu-Kuei [1 ]
Yu, Chun-Hao [1 ]
Chen, Ying-Chu [2 ]
Lin, Yan-Gu [3 ]
机构：
[1] Natl Dong Hwa Univ, Dept Optoelect Engn, Hualien, Taiwan
[2] Natl Taiwan Univ, Dept Chem Engn, Taipei 106, Taiwan
[3] Argonne Natl Lab, Chem Sci & Engn Div, Argonne, IL 60439 USA
来源：
RSC ADVANCES | 2012年 / 2卷 / 32期
关键词：
PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL ACTIVITY; THIN-FILMS; WATER; CUO; COMPOSITE; FABRICATION; REDUCTION;
D O I：
10.1039/c2ra21979d
中图分类号：
O6 [化学];
学科分类号：
0703 ;
摘要：
A hierarchical p-type Cu2O film with nano/microspheres on copper foil is successfully synthesized via a facile and cost-effective liquid reduction route through transformation of a lotus-like CuO/Cu(OH)(2) nanosheet/nanowire structure. Various sizes of sphere-like Cu2O are transformed from CuO nanosheets and Cu(OH)(2) nanowires by chemically reducing the oxides from Cu2+ to Cu1+ in a solution of ascorbic acid at a low temperature of 60 degrees C. Mott-Schottky analysis shows the flat band potential of the sphere-like Cu2O film to be -0.11 V and an acceptor concentration of 2.7 x 10(20) cm(-3). A direct band gap of 2.02 eV in Cu2O film is determined by incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency measurements. Significantly, this hierarchical Cu2O photocathode exhibits remarkable photoelectrochemical activity in visible light. These results demonstrate that the Cu2O film with nano/microspheres has great potential in solar hydrogen applications.
引用
收藏
页码：12455 / 12459
页数：5
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