Electrochemical Fabrication of MoO2/MoO3-based Photo-Anodes for Water Splitting

Photo-electrochemical cells are a promising technology for the environmentally-benign production of hydrogen using solar energy. In this kind of cells, a photo-active material is coated or deposited on a substrate (e. g. fluorine-doped tin dioxide(FTO)-coated glass) which acts as current collector and support. In this research project, a molybdenum oxide layer is electrochemically deposited on the surface of a FTO-coated glass working electrode immersed in a solution containing 0.075 M molybdate (MoO42-), 0.075 M nickel sulfate (NiSO4 center dot 6H(2)O), 0.5 M tri-sodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7 center dot 2H(2)O) and 0.7 M ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), by applying a potential of -1.377 V vs Ag/AgCl (3 M KCl) during 3 hours. The characterization of the photo-anodes produced suggests that they present semiconducting and catalytic properties which make them attractive for their application in a photo-electrochemical cell for water splitting.