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Improving the photovoltage of Cu2O photocathodes with dual buffer layers

Author

Listed:
  • Jinshui Cheng

    (Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, Nankai University)

  • Linxiao Wu

    (Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, Nankai University)

  • Jingshan Luo

    (Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, Nankai University
    Nankai University)

Abstract

Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is a promising oxide material for photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC), and increasing its photovoltage is the key to creating efficient overall PEC water-splitting devices. Previous reports are mostly focused on optimizing the energy band alignment between Cu2O and the n-type buffer layer to improve the photovoltage of Cu2O photocathodes. However, the band alignment between the n-type buffer layer and the protective layer is often ignored. In this work, Cu2O photocathodes with a single buffer layer (Ga2O3) and dual buffer layers (Ga2O3/ZnGeOx) are fabricated, and their PEC performances are compared. Results show that after inserting the second buffer layer (ZnGeOx), the onset potential of the Cu2O photocathode increases by 0.16 V. Operando electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements and analysis of the energy-level diagrams of each layer show that an energy level gradient between Ga2O3 and TiO2 is created when ZnGeOx is introduced, which eliminates the potential barrier at the interface of Ga2O3/TiO2 and improves the photovoltage of the Cu2O photocathode. Our work provides an effective approach to improve the photovoltage of photoelectrodes for solar water splitting by introducing dual buffer layers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jinshui Cheng & Linxiao Wu & Jingshan Luo, 2023. "Improving the photovoltage of Cu2O photocathodes with dual buffer layers," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-42799-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42799-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Linfeng Pan & Yuhang Liu & Liang Yao & Ren & Kevin Sivula & Michael Grätzel & Anders Hagfeldt, 2020. "Cu2O photocathodes with band-tail states assisted hole transport for standalone solar water splitting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Daming Zhao & Yiqing Wang & Chung-Li Dong & Yu-Cheng Huang & Jie Chen & Fei Xue & Shaohua Shen & Liejin Guo, 2021. "Boron-doped nitrogen-deficient carbon nitride-based Z-scheme heterostructures for photocatalytic overall water splitting," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 6(4), pages 388-397, April.
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