Photoelectrochemical Behavior of PEDOT/Nanocarbon Electrodes: Fundamentals and Structure–Property Relationships

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the photoelectrochemical behavior of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/carbon nanotube (CNT) and PEDOT/graphene nanocomposite photoelectrodes for the first time. Electrodeposition allowed control of both the composition and the morphology (as demonstrated by both transmission and scanning electron microscopy images) and also ensured an intimate contact between the PEDOT film and the nanocarbon scaffold. The effect of CNT and graphene on the photoelectrochemical behavior of the nanocomposite samples was studied by linear sweep photovoltammetry, incident photon-to-charge-carrier conversion efficiency measurements, and long-term photoelectrolysis coupled with gas-chromatographic product analysis. We demonstrated that the nanocarbon framework facilitated efficient charge carrier transport, resulting in a 4-fold increase in the measured photocurrents for the PEDOT/CNT electrode, compared to the bare PEDOT counterpart. The presented results contribute to the better understanding of the enhanced photoelectrochemical behavior of organic semiconductor/nanocarbon electrode assemblies and might encourage other researchers to study these intriguing hybrid materials further.

Recent Advances in Solar-Driven Carbon Dioxide Conversion: Expectations versus Reality

“…For example, CsPbBr 3 @zeolitic imidazolate framework nanocomposites have been reported to exhibit enhanced CO 2 reduction activity due to the addition of zeolitic imidazolate framework with its original CO 2 capturing ability and the role of acting as a cocatalyst . In addition, it was demonstrated by the example of Cu 2 O that when a highly conductive scaffold is introduced into the photoelectrode, the charge carrier transport can be enhanced, and larger photocurrents can be harvested. , Similar trends have also been discovered in organic photoelectrodes . This strategy greatly broadened the range of the catalyst and light absorber selection by reasonably combining the attractive features of each component.…”

Superior overall water splitting performance in polypyrrole photoelectrode by couplingNrGOand modifying electropolymerization substrate

“…The RuO 2 and NrGO nanosheets with the capability of absorbing high-solar spectra and extra charge transmission improve the separation of the charge carriers and so reduced the probability of recombination. 17,19 Thus, the photogenerated charges have enough time to move toward the electrode/electrolyte interfaces and contribute to the OER and HER reactions to produce oxygen and hydrogen, respectively.…”

“…2,16 Most famous of CPs are polyaniline (PANI), 17 polypyrrole (PPy) 18 and poly [3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene] (PEDOT). 19 The PPy with the low cost, ease of synthesis, environment stability, and high conductivity is preferred to the others. 20 The PEC performance of PPy in the oxidation of water was studied by Frank and Honda more than 30 years ago.…”

Micropatterned PEDOT with Enhanced Electrochromism and Electrochemical Tunable Diffraction

“…Because of the excellent physicochemical properties such as low band gap, high conductivity, high stability, high electrochemical activity, and good biocompatibility, poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) has been applied on organic electronic devices [i.e., solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), electrochromic devices, photodiodes, transistors], , electrochemical sensors, , photocatalysts, , and electrocatalysts. − With the miniaturization and integration of electronic devices, the micro–nanofabrication of conductive polymers (CPs) with functional structures is of great demand because the micro–nanostructured CPs with larger surface area, faster ion transport, and more accessible reacting sites can improve the performance of sensors, catalysts, polymer solar cells, and electrochromic diffraction devices. − …”