Chalcogenides
are a promising class of light-absorbers as photoanodes
for photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, the oxidation and
the sluggish reaction kinetics at the surface during water oxidation
limit their applications in solar-driven water splitting. Here, we
demonstrate an intriguing photoanode consisting of three components
by deposition of Cu2S via a simple successive ionic layer
adsorption and reaction method on the surface of BiVO4 to
form a well-defined heterojunction. To protect Cu2S from
oxidation and accelerate the reaction kinetics, a thin layer of CoFe–OH
has been successfully integrated uniformly on the surface. The resulting
Cu2S/BiVO4 composite photoanode shows a wider
light absorption range beyond 500 nm than bare BiVO4 due
to the incorporation of Cu2S. The resulting photoanode
exhibits dramatically enhanced performance and stability for water
splitting, and the photocurrent increases to 3.07 mA/cm2 at 1.23 VRHE. This work endows chalcogenides with a promise
as candidate catalysts for highly efficient and stable solar-driven
reactions.
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