Enhancing the solar hydrogen generation performance of nickel-oxide nanostructured thin films doped with molybdenum

Abstract

Utilizing technology to generate hydrogen (H2) solar energy on a scale corresponding to global energy use is a viable approach to relieve the environmental deterioration and address the energy crisis. This research deals with the manufacture of thin films prepared from nickel oxide (NiO) and their use in the photoelectrochemical water-splitting (PEC-WS) application to yield green H2 as a clean energy fuel. Herein, thin films of (molybdenum) Mo-doped and pure samples from NiO were successfully prepared using a straightforward sputtering method at different radio frequency (RF) power for the dopant Mo target from 0 to 50 watt. X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV-Vis spectroscopy techniques were used to analyze the structural, morphological, chemical composition, and optical characterization of all the prepared films. The PEC-WS behaviors for green H2production and the impedance spectroscopy measurements were also investigated for all samples. In PEC measurements, the 50 W sample showed the highest PEC-WS performance. At -0.4V vs. RHE, the 50 W sample verified the highest value for the photocurrent density of about 1.7 mA which was approximately four times more than the pure NiO sample. The applied