Amorphous cobalt boride exploring as the first first-row transition-metal-based metallic photocatalyst for efficient water splitting over 800 nm

Abstract

Semiconductors often have limited photocatalytic water-splitting performances owing to the narrow light absorption and low effective carrier density. In response to these challenges, we report the discovery of metallic amorphous cobalt boride (Co2B) as the first first-row transition metallic photocatalyst. It was prepared via a simple chemical reduction method and performs efficient water splitting spanning the UV, visible light and near-infrared region (NIR) via interband transitions. It achieves bifunctional water splitting activities with H2 evolution rate of 202.3 μmol h−1 g−1 and O2 evolution rate of 74.8 μmol h−1 g−1, superior to the existing (semi-)metallic photocatalysts. The material shows over 1 % apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) and 20 % incident photon to current conversion efficiencies (IPCE) at the NIR region >800 nm. Theoretical and photophysical experimental studies synergistically confirm that the metallic nature with high carrier concentrations and amorphous structure with abundant active sites contribute to the good water splitting performance of Co2B. This research sets the foundation for the utilization of highly efficient transition metal-based metallic photocatalysts in photocatalysis across the entire solar spectrum.