A highly [001]-textured Sb2Se3 photocathode for efficient photoelectrochemical water reduction

Hongpeng Zhou; Menglei Feng; Kena Song; Bin Liao; Yichang Wang; Ruchuan Liu; Xiangnan Gong; Dingke Zhang; Lingfei Cao; Shijian Chen

doi:10.1039/c9nr08700a

A highly [001]-textured Sb₂Se₃ photocathode for efficient photoelectrochemical water reduction

Nanoscale. 2019 Dec 21;11(47):22871-22879. doi: 10.1039/c9nr08700a. Epub 2019 Nov 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Smart Materials, College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 401331, China. sjchen@cqu.edu.cn.
² International Joint Laboratory for Light Alloys (Ministry of Education), College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China. caolingfei@cqu.edu.cn.
³ Analytical and Testing Center of Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China.
⁴ College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331, China. zhangdk@cqnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31755514
DOI: 10.1039/c9nr08700a

Abstract

Anisotropic Sb₂Se₃ is an emerging earth-abundant photocathode for photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, controlling the growth of the Sb₂Se₃ film with optimal [001] crystallographic orientation is still the most challenging issue. Here, we successfully synthesized [001]-oriented Sb₂Se₃via a reliable and facile method. The [001]-oriented Sb₂Se₃ film could provide an excellent carrier-migration efficiency. Consequently, we achieved a record-high photocurrent density of -20.2 mA cm^-2 at 0 V_RHE and a very high half-cell solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 1.36% under 1-sun simulated solar illumination in a TiO₂/[001]-Sb₂Se₃ photocathode. This work provides an effective strategy and important guidelines for rationally designing optoelectronic devices based on the [001]-oriented Sb₂Se₃ film.