Candle flame fabrication of carbon coated CuO-Cu2O composite photocathode for photoelectrochemical water reduction

Abstract

In this work, carbon coated-CuO-Cu2O composite on copper foam (C-CuO-Cu2O/CF) is synthesized by candle flame treatment and is evaluated as a photocathode of photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC). The photocurrent density of C-CuO-Cu2O/CF electrode can reach −1.2 mA cm−2 (at 0 V vs. RHE), which is about 12 times higher than that of Cu2O/CF. The high PEC performance is due to the carbon modification and the unique composition which increase the carrier concentration and reduce the carrier recombination rate and promote charge transfer at electrode-electrolyte interface. Our results proves that candle flame annealing is a promising way for the rational design of carbon modified photoelectrodes.