Localized Defects on Copper Sulfide Surface for Enhanced Plasmon Resonance and Water Splitting

Kaixv Ren; Pengfei Yin; Yuzhu Zhou; Xingzhong Cao; Cunku Dong; Lan Cui; Hui Liu; Xiwen Du

doi:10.1002/smll.201700867

Localized Defects on Copper Sulfide Surface for Enhanced Plasmon Resonance and Water Splitting

Small. 2017 Sep;13(36). doi: 10.1002/smll.201700867. Epub 2017 Jul 19.

Authors

Kaixv Ren¹, Pengfei Yin¹, Yuzhu Zhou¹, Xingzhong Cao², Cunku Dong¹, Lan Cui¹, Hui Liu¹, Xiwen Du¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of New-Energy Materials, Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
² Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.

PMID: 28722307
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201700867

Abstract

Surficial defects in semiconductor can induce high density of carriers and cause localized surface plasmon resonance which is prone to light harvesting and energy conversion, while internal defects may cause serious recombination of electrons and holes. Thus, it is significant to precisely control the distribution of defects, although there are few successful examples. Herein, an effective strategy to confine abundant defects within the surface layer of Cu_1.94 S nanoflake arrays (NFAs) is reported, leaving a perfect internal structure. The Cu_1.94 S NFAs are then applied in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. As expected, the surficial defects give rise to strong LSPR effect and quick charge separation near the surface; meanwhile, they provide active sites for catalyzing hydrogen evolution. As a result, the NFAs achieve the top PEC properties ever reported for Cu_x S-based photocathodes.

Keywords: Cu1.94S; LSPR; nanoflake arrays; surface defects; water splitting.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't