Charge Transfer Mechanism in Type II WO/CuO Heterostructure.

In this study, we explore the charge transfer mechanism between WO and CuO in heterostructured WO/CuO electrodes and in a WO||CuO tandem photoelectrochemical cell. The physical-chemical characterizations of the individual WO and CuO electrodes and the heterostructured WO/CuO electrode by XRD, XPS, and SEM methods confirm the successful formation of the target systems. The results of photoelectrochemical studies infer that in both the heterostructured WO/CuO electrode and WO||CuO tandem photoelectrochemical cell, the major mechanism of charge transfer between WO and CuO is a realization of the Z-scheme.