Reaction Kinetics of Photoelectrochemical CO Reduction on a CuBiO-Based Photocathode.

The CO reduction reaction (CORR) is an essential step in natural photosynthesis and artificial photosynthesis to provide carbohydrate foods and hydrocarbon energy in the carbon-neutral cycle. However, the current solar conversion efficiencies and/or product selectivity of the CORR are very sluggish due to its complicated multiple-step charge transfer reactions. Here, we systematically investigate the charge transfer reaction rate during CO reduction on CuBiO photocathodes, where the surface is modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). We discover that the surface amine group increases the charge separation rate, significantly enhancing the surface charge transfer reaction rate. However, the surface acidity has less influence on the first-order reaction, indicating that a rate-determining step (RDS) exists in the early stage of the photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) processes. Moreover, the intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) confirms that both surface charge transfer and the recombination rate on APTES-coated CuBiO are larger than bare CuBiO while possessing comparable charge transfer efficiencies. Overall, the surface charge transfer reactions under the PEC condition require designing more effective nanostructured photoelectrodes and powerful characterization methods to intrinsically increase the charge separation and transfer rate while reducing the recombination rate.