Facile Synthesis and Photoelectrochemical Performance of a Bi₂S₃@rGO Nanocomposite Photoanode for Efficient Water Splitting

Abstract

Visible-light-active photoelectrodes are more responsive to high-energy conversion efficiency in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, we fabricated a bismuth sulfide@reduced graphene oxide (Bi2S3@rGO) nanocomposite photoanode via facile synthetic methods. Typical results show that the Bi2S3@rGO nanocomposite exhibited a high photocurrent density of 6.06 mA cm–2 and a maximum applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 4.2% at 0.32 V. Moreover, Bi2S3 nanorods have more uniform dispersion on the surface of rGO sheets in the Bi2S3@rGO composite as demonstrated in the transmission electron microscopy images. In addition, photoluminescence and impedance studies reveal the enhanced charge-transfer properties in the Bi2S3@rGO photoelectrode. The enhanced PEC performance of the composite could be attributed to the effective visible-light absorption of Bi2S3 and the good electron-transfer properties of highly conductive rGO nanosheets, facilitating the charge separation and transportation, leading to the inhibition of charge recombination.

Selective photo-reduction of CO2 to methanol using Cu-doped 1D-Bi2S3/rGO nanocomposites under visible light irradiation

“…3(d). 15,16,20,42 Fig. 3(b) shows that (1%) Cu-doped Bi 2 S 3 is anchored well on the surface of rGO, implying the intimate contact between Cu-doped Bi 2 S 3 and rGO, which is also clearly manifested by the TEM image in Fig.…”

“…017-0320) with unit cell constants a = 11.1490 Å, b = 11.3040 Å and c = 3.9810 Å. rGO diffraction peaks observed at 24.0° in the Cu-BSNC/rGO pattern are shielded by the stronger peak of Bi 2 S 3 at 24.9°. 15–17 The XRD patterns of the synthesised (1%) Cu-BSNC/rGO nanocomposite also exhibit diffraction peaks, the same as BSNC/rGO, but the characteristic diffraction peaks of Cu and its oxide derivative are not observed, perhaps due to the low wt% of Cu doping. The average crystallite size ( L ) of (1%) Cu-BSNC/rGO is found to be 19.86 nm by using the Debye–Scherrer equation.where λ (0.15406 nm) is the wavelength of the X-ray, β is the full line width at the half maximum height of the peak (FWHM), and θ is the Bragg angle.…”

Plasmonic Au nanoparticle sandwiched CuBi2O4/Sb2S3photocathode with multi-mediated electron transfer for efficient solar water splitting

“…The intensity of the peak was further reduced in the case of CuBi 2 O 4 /Au/Sb 2 S 3 , resulting in efficient electron transfer and reduced recombination rate. 62,63 The role of Au as an electron relay for electron transfer can be supported by the fact that CuBi 2 O 4 /Au/Sb 2 S 3 has a reduced PL intensity compared to CuBi 2 O 4 /Sb 2 S 3 . IPCE measurement revealed the enhancement of conversion efficiency due to plasmonic Au NPs under unbiased conditions.…”

Enhancing the Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation Activity of α‐Fe2O3 Thin Film Photoanode by Employing rGO as Electron Transfer Mediator and NiFe‐LDH as Cocatalyst

“…Palyam et al. also designed a Bi 2 S 3 /rGO photoanode which yielded an excellent photocurrent density of 6.06 mA/cm 2 at 1.23 V RHE and a high applied bias photon‐to‐current efficiency (ABPE) of 4.2 % [13] . The improvement of PEC performance was ascribed to the efficient light absorber of Bi 2 S 3 and the high electrical conductivity of rGO.…”