The effectiveness of reduced graphene oxide as a solid electron mediator for water splitting in the Z-scheme photocatalysis system is demonstrated. We show that a tailor-made, photoreduced graphene oxide can shuttle photogenerated electrons from an O(2)-evolving photocatalyst (BiVO(4)) to a H(2)-evolving photocatalyst (Ru/SrTiO(3):Rh), tripling the consumption of electron-hole pairs in the water splitting reaction under visible-light irradiation.

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is incorporated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) using a facile single-step photocatalytic reaction to improve its photoresponse in visible light. Remarkable 10-fold enhancement in photoelectrochemical water splitting reaction is observed on BiVO4−RGO composite compared with pure BiVO4 under visible illumination. This improvement is attributed to the longer electron lifetime of excited BiVO4 as the electrons are injected to RGO instantly at the site of generation, leading to a minimized charge recombination. Improved contact between BiVO4 particles with transparent conducting electrode using RGO scaffold also contributes to this photoresponse enhancement.

Metal sulfides are highly active photocatalysts for water reduction to form H2 under visible light irradiation, whereas they are unfavorable for water oxidation to form O2 because of severe self-photooxidation (i.e., photocorrosion). Construction of a Z-scheme system is a useful strategy to split water into H2 and O2 using such photocorrosive metal sulfides because the photogenerated holes in metal sulfides are efficiently transported away. Here, we demonstrate powdered Z-schematic water splitting under visible light and simulated sunlight irradiation by combining metal sulfides as an H2-evolving photocatalyst, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as an electron mediator, and a visible-light-driven BiVO4 as an O2-evolving photocatalyst. This Z-schematic photocatalyst composite is also active in CO2 reduction using water as the sole electron donor under visible light.

Z-schematic water splitting was successfully demonstrated using metal sulfide photocatalysts that were usually unsuitable for water splitting as single particulate photocatalysts due to photocorrosion. When metal sulfide photocatalysts with a p-type semiconductor character as a H2-evolving photocatalyst were combined with reduced graphene oxide-TiO2 composite as an O2-evolving photocatalyst, water splitting into H2 and O2 in a stoichiometric amount proceeded. In this system, photogenerated electrons in the TiO2 with an n-type semiconductor character transferred to the metal sulfide through a reduced graphene oxide to achieve water splitting. Moreover, this system was active for solar water splitting.

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