Coupling multifunctional ZnCoAl-layered double hydroxides on Ti-Fe(2)O(3) photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

The efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is hindered by the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This study developed a composite photoanode for water oxidation by incorporating ternary LDHs (ZnCoAl-LDH) onto Ti-Fe2O3 as a cocatalyst. The ZnCoAl-LDH/Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode achieved a photocurrent density of 3.51 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is 9.8 times higher than that of bare Ti-Fe2O3. Through a series of characterizations, the synergistic effects among the three metals were revealed. Furthermore, the addition of Zn can induce the formation of more high-valent Co, increasing the conductivity of CoAl-LDH and significantly reducing the surface charge transfer resistance. These advantages significantly enhance the injection efficiency of ZnCoAl-LDH/Ti-Fe2O3 (82 %), thereby accelerating the OER kinetics of Ti-Fe2O3. Our work introduces new approaches for selecting photoelectrochemical cocatalysts and designing high-performance photoanodes for water splitting.

Cheng H ，Ba K ，Liu Y ，Lin Y ，Wang D ，Xie T ... -  《-》

Interface Engineering of CoFe-LDH Modified Ti: α-Fe(2)O(3) Photoanode for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation.

Chang Y ，Han M ，Ding Y ，Wei H ，Zhang D ，Luo H ，Li X ，Yan X ... -  《Nanomaterials》

Simple electrodeposition to synthesize a NiFeS(x)-modified Ti-Fe(2)O(3) photoanode: an effective strategy to improve the photoelectrochemical water oxidation reaction.

Wang H ，Zhang R ，Li YY ，Wang D ，Lin Y ，Xie T ... -  《-》

Enhancing photoelectrochemical performance and stability of Ti-doped hematite photoanode via pentanuclear Co-based MOF modification.

Dong G ，Xie F ，Kou F ，Chen T ，Xiao C ，Du S ，Liang J ，Lou C ，Zhuang J ... -  《Frontiers in Chemistry》

Hematite decorated with nanodot-like cobalt (oxy)hydroxides for boosted photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been considered as an alternative process to produce green hydrogen. However, the energy conversion efficiency of PEC systems was still limited by the inefficient photoanode. Cocatalysts decoration is regarded as an efficient strategy for improving PEC performance of photoanode. In this work, nanodot-like cobalt (oxy)hydroxides was rationally decorated on hematite to fabricate CoOOH/Fe2O3 photoanode. The resulted CoOOH/Fe2O3 exhibits a high photocurrent density of 1.92 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is 2.6 times than that of bare Fe2O3. In addition, the onset potential displays a cathodic shift of ca. 110 mV, indicating that CoOOH can efficiently accelerate water oxidation kinetics over Fe2O3. The comprehensive PEC and electrochemical characterizations reveal that CoOOH could not only provide abundant accessible Co active sites for water oxidation, but also could passivate the surface states of Fe2O3, thus increase the carrier density and decrease the interfacial resistance. As a result, the PEC water oxidation performance over Fe2O3 was significantly boosted. This work supports that the roles of CoOOH cocatalyst is generic and such CoOOH could be used for other semiconductor-based photoanodes for outstanding PEC water splitting performance.

Chong R ，Wang Z ，Fan M ，Wang L ，Chang Z ，Zhang L ... -  《-》