Yb3+, Er3+ co-doped NaGdF4/BiVO4 embedded Cu2O photocathodes for photoelectrochemical water reduction with near infrared light

• Published in: Applied surface science 2022-05, Vol.585, p.152650, Article 152650
• Main Authors: Ma, Lianke, Chen, Tingchao, Li, Qiuguo, Mai, Manfang, Ye, Xin, Mai, Junxian, Liu, Cuiyin, Zhang, Jingtao, Lin, Donghai, Ma, Xinzhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Internal electric field; Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution; S-scheme heterojunction; Solar hydrogen production; Upconversion luminescent materials
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.152650

[Display omitted] •NaGdF4:Yb3+, Er3+/BiVO4 embedded Cu2O photocathodes are fabricated by hydrothermal synthesis combined with electrochemical deposition.•The photocathodes demonstrate good near infrared light harvesting performance for producing photocurrent and hydrogen.•The good near infrared light harvesting performance is attributed to the embedded NaGdF4:Yb3+, Er3+ and the BiVO4. Upconverting near infrared light to photoelectrode absorbable visible light is desirable for enhancing photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. In this work, photocathodes were fabricated by embedding β-NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+ nanocrystals and BiVO4 microcrystals into Cu2O matrix, where β-NaGdF4:Yb3+, Er3+ nanocrystals were used for upconversion luminescence and the BiVO4 microcrystals were employed to form abundant hetero-junctions inside the Cu2O matrix. In comparison with the pristine Cu2O thin film, the NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+/BiVO4 embedded Cu2O photocathodes illustrated good response to near infrared light. Photocurrent produced by 980 nm light was enhanced by a factor of 40 to about 1 mA cm−2. The high photocurrent can be attributed to the widely distributed internal electric fields introduced by the BiVO4 in the bulk of the Cu2O, which inhibits the recombination of the electrons and holes excited by the NaGdF4:Yb3+,Er3+ emitted visible light in the vicinity. Furthermore, the 980 nm light induced temperature increment exhibits significant synergistic effect on the enhanced photocurrent.