High photoelectrochemical performance of a p‐type reduced grapheneoxide‐copperoxide/Cu foil (rGO‐CuO/Cu) photoelectrode prepared by a one‐pot hydrothermal method

Abstract

Toward solar-to-hydrogen generation, it is required to assembling an efficient photoelectrode in the solar energy conversion system. The preparation of rGO-CuO/Cu photoelectrode via a facile one-pot hydrothermal approach is reported. Here, we present the physicochemical and performance of rGO-CuO/Cu photoelectrode in different hydrothermal reaction time. The XRD, XPS, HRTEM, FESEM, and Raman analysis authenticate the formation of rGO-CuO/Cu composites. The photoelectrochemical properties measurement (including UV-Vis, photovoltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Mott-Schottky analysis) demonstrated the best performance for photoelectrode synthesized in 3 hours of hydrothermal reaction. The rGO-CuO/Cu3 composites recorded a charge carrier density of 6.548 × 10 24 cm −3 and generating a highest photocurrent density of 9.6 mA cm −2 (vs Ag/AgCl).By optimizing the reaction time, higher photocurrent was generated due to more surface capable for effective charge transfer separation. Thus, with the facile method, the technique was shown to be attractive in preparing photocathodes for photoelectrochemical energy conversion.

Copper Oxide-Based Photocatalysts and Photocathodes: Fundamentals and Recent Advances

“…Graphene, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide attracted large interest as a support for many photocatalyst, including CuO and Cu 2 O. Such materials have been summarized in numerous review articles [ 173 , 198 , 199 ]. First of all, combination of copper oxide materials with a highly conductive graphene framework is an attractive approach to assemble efficient photocathodes for solar fuel generation.…”

“…The presence of Cu 2 O nanograins on rGO sheets can successfully ameliorate the agglomeration issue between layers while, thanks to the improved electrical conductivity, photogenerated electrons from the CB of copper oxide can be transferred instantly via rGO sheets leading to a decrease of the unfavorable recombination of carriers [ 202 ]. Such promising effects resulted in numerous example of photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical application of copper oxide/rGO: Cu 2 O/rGO and CuO/rGO as visible-light active catalysts of CO 2 photoreduction to methanol [ 203 , 204 ], Cu 2 O/rGO towards photocatalytic degradation of pollutants [ 205 , 206 , 207 ] and Cu 2 O/RGO and CuO/RGO nanocomposites for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical H 2 evolution [ 198 , 199 , 208 ].…”

An overview of co‐catalysts on metal oxides for photocatalytic water splitting

“…Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising strategy for transforming sunlight energy into H 2 to produce clean energy with no pollution or by‐products 1,10,11 . Since its discovery in the early 1970s by Honda and Fujishima for the photo‐assisted electrochemical water oxidation of n‐type TiO 2 single‐crystal electrodes, 12 PEC water splitting on various semiconducting materials has been widely studied to attain sustainable H 2 energy production and cost‐effective commercialization 13,14 .…”

New Photoelectrochemical Reactor for Hydrogen Generation: Experimental Investigation

“…The photoelectrodes were coated with bithiophene containing covalent triazine frameworks’ (CTF-BTh) thin layers via electropolymerization to obtain high stability in a corrosive media, and it was reported that the process offered corrosion-resistant photoelectrode, enabling a long-term operation with an STH efficiency of about 3.70%. Mohd Shah et al conducted a study reporting the PEC performance of a p-type (rGO-CuO/Cu) photoelectrode prepared via a hydrothermal method, where the highest photocurrent density obtained was 9.6 mA/cm 2 (vs Ag/AgCl). Kim et al investigated a surface passivation layer treatment on a quantum-dot-sensitized TiO 2 photoelectrode performing a photocurrent density of 14.43 mA/cm 2 at 0.82 V (vs RHE).…”