Amorphous Cu2-δO as Passivation Layer for Ultra Long Stability of Copper Oxide Nanowires in Photoelectrochemical Environments

Core-shell CuO-Cu2O nanowires with a surface amorphous Cu2-δO layer leads to high stability photocathodes for use in photoelectrochemical splitting of water. The nanowires are synthesized via carbothermal reduction of CuO nanowires at 300°C during which a 2-3 nm conformal and amorphous Cu2-δO layer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Electrochemical Society 2018-01, Vol.165 (7), p.H417-H424
Main Authors: Banerjee, Sriya, Wu, Fei, Myung, Yoon, Chatman, Shawn, Niedzwiedzki, Dariusz M., Banerjee, Parag
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Core-shell CuO-Cu2O nanowires with a surface amorphous Cu2-δO layer leads to high stability photocathodes for use in photoelectrochemical splitting of water. The nanowires are synthesized via carbothermal reduction of CuO nanowires at 300°C during which a 2-3 nm conformal and amorphous Cu2-δO layer is formed on the nanowire surface. This Cu2-δO layer enhances photocurrent and improves photocorrosion stability of the nanowires. While catalyst-free, pristine CuO nanowires show a photocurrent density is 0.50 mA/cm2 and a stability of 53% after 3.4 hours of testing at −0.50 V under AM1.5 G conditions; the catalyst-free, carbothermally reduced nanowires achieve a photocurrent density of 0.75 mA/cm2 and an improved stability of 96% under identical test conditions. The mechanism of enhanced photocurrent and its stability is discussed in the context of extensive pre and post test nanowire characterization.
ISSN:1945-7111
DOI:10.1149/2.1131807jes