Alhabradi Mansour, Yang Xiuru, Alruwaili Manal, Chang Hong, Tahir Asif Ali
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK.
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Majmaah University, Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024 Jan 25;14(3):259. doi: 10.3390/nano14030259.
Critical to boosting photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance is improving visible light absorption, accelerating carrier separation, and reducing electron-hole pair recombination. In this investigation, the PVD/RF method was employed to fabricate WO thin films that were subsequently treated using the surface treatment process, and the film surface was modified by introducing varying concentrations of cobalt nanoparticles, a non-noble metal, as an effective Co catalyst. The results show that the impact of loaded cobalt nanoparticles on the film surface can explain the extended absorption spectrum of visible light, efficiently capturing photogenerated electrons. This leads to an increased concentration of charge carriers, promoting a faster rate of carrier separation and enhancing interface charge transfer efficiency. Compared with a pristine WO thin film photoanode, the photocurrent of the as-prepared Co/WO films shows a higher PEC activity, with more than a one-fold increase in photocurrent density from 1.020 mA/cm to 1.485 mA/cm under simulated solar radiation. The phase, crystallinity, and surface of the prepared films were analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. The PVD/RF method, scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) were employed to assess the surface morphology of the fabricated film electrode. Optical properties were studied using UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy. Simultaneously, the photoelectrochemical properties of both films were evaluated using linear sweep voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). These results offer a valuable reference for designing high-performance photoanodes on a large scale for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications.
提高光电化学（PEC）性能的关键在于改善可见光吸收、加速载流子分离以及减少电子-空穴对复合。在本研究中，采用物理气相沉积/射频（PVD/RF）方法制备WO薄膜，随后通过表面处理工艺对其进行处理，并通过引入不同浓度的钴纳米颗粒（一种非贵金属）作为有效的钴催化剂来修饰薄膜表面。结果表明，负载在薄膜表面的钴纳米颗粒的影响可以解释可见光吸收光谱的扩展，有效地捕获光生电子。这导致载流子浓度增加，促进载流子分离速率加快并提高界面电荷转移效率。与原始的WO薄膜光阳极相比，所制备的Co/WO薄膜的光电流显示出更高的PEC活性，在模拟太阳辐射下，光电流密度从1.020 mA/cm增加到1.485 mA/cm，增加了一倍以上。使用X射线衍射（XRD）、X射线光电子能谱（XPS）和拉曼光谱对制备薄膜的相、结晶度和表面进行了分析。采用PVD/RF方法、扫描电子显微镜（FE-SEM）和高分辨率透射电子显微镜（HR-TEM）来评估所制备薄膜电极的表面形貌。使用紫外可见吸收光谱研究光学性质。同时，使用线性扫描伏安法和电化学阻抗谱（EIS）评估了两种薄膜的光电化学性质。这些结果为大规模设计用于光电化学（PEC）应用的高性能光阳极提供了有价值的参考。
