Enhanced performance of photoelectrochemical water oxidation using a three-dimensional interconnected nanostructural photoanode via simultaneously harnessing charge transfer and coating with an oxygen evolution catalyst

Metal–Organic Framework Derived Co3O4/TiO2/Si Heterostructured Nanorod Array Photoanodes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

“…photoexcitation of semiconductor photoanode; the separation and migration of photoinduced carriers; the surface water reduction on the cathode; and water oxidation on the photoanode with photoinduced electrons/holes. [20][21][22] For instance, via constructing semiconductor heterojunction with matched band position, the separation and transportation of photoinduced carrier can be effectively enhanced (such as Bi 2 MoO 6 /Si, [23] Ag/Fe 2 O 3 , [24] NiFe-LDH/C 3 N 4[25] heterojunction). [12,13] Metal oxides (MOs), such as TiO 2 , [14] α-Fe 2 O 3 , [15] and WO 3 , [16,17] have been widely investigated as the photoanode materials for PEC water splitting, for their low-cost, environmentfriendly properties.…”

“…However, as intrinsic semiconductor, the PEC performance of pristine MO photoanode is always hindered by the poor carrier mobility, narrow optical-response range, and slow surface water oxidation kinetics. [23,31] In this regard, constructing MO/Si heterostructured photoanode is proposed to overcome the potential shortcomings of both MO and silicon simultaneously. [20][21][22] For instance, via constructing semiconductor heterojunction with matched band position, the separation and transportation of photoinduced carrier can be effectively enhanced (such as Bi 2 MoO 6 /Si, [23] Ag/Fe 2 O 3 , [24] NiFe-LDH/C 3 N 4…”

“…Particularly, benefiting from the outstanding visiblelight response performance and carrier mobility within silicon, it has long been regarded as the most suitable material to build the solar energy conversion device. [23,31] In this regard, constructing MO/Si heterostructured photoanode is proposed to overcome the potential shortcomings of both MO and silicon simultaneously. [30] However, it is not efficient to directly use only silicon as anode for PEC water oxidation due to the valence band (VB) of silicon is higher than the water oxidation potential.…”

“…[12,13] Metal oxides (MOs), such as TiO 2 , [14] α-Fe 2 O 3 , [15] and WO 3 , [16,17] have been widely investigated as the photoanode materials for PEC water splitting, for their low-cost, environmentfriendly properties. [20][21][22] For instance, via constructing semiconductor heterojunction with matched band position, the separation and transportation of photoinduced carrier can be effectively enhanced (such as Bi 2 MoO 6 /Si, [23] Ag/Fe 2 O 3 , [24] NiFe-LDH/C 3 N 4 [25] heterojunction). [18,19] Therefore, designing composited photoanodes with proper band-gap energy structure is considered to be a promising route to overcome these limitations induced poor PEC performance.…”

“…[20][21][22] For instance, via constructing semiconductor heterojunction with matched band position, the separation and transportation of photoinduced carrier can be effectively enhanced (such as Bi 2 MoO 6 /Si, [23] Ag/Fe 2 O 3 , [24] NiFe-LDH/C 3 N 4 [25] heterojunction). [23,31] In this regard, constructing MO/Si heterostructured photoanode is proposed to overcome the potential shortcomings of both MO and silicon simultaneously. [26] As the conduction band (CB) of silicon is more negative than most of the common MO semiconductors (e.g., TiO 2 , [27,28] WO 3 ), [29] silicon can bring better electron reduction kinetics on the counter electrode.…”