Physical Vapor Deposition Method Research Articles

Nanomechanical behaviour of Ni – YSZ nanocomposite coatings on superalloy 690 as diffusion barrier coatings for nuclear applications

Ni-YSZ nanocomposite coatings with different Ni content in the range of 0–50 wt.% were developed on Inconel 690 substrates using an electron beam physical vapour deposition method to optimise the Ni concentration in order to enhance the durability of coatings for nuclear applications. X ray diffraction confirmed the formation of cubic phases of Ni and YSZ in the Ni-YSZ nanocomposite coatings. Increased addition of Ni was found to increase the crystallite size of Ni which resulted in lower strain. FESEM analysis of cross-sectional view of the compositionally graded Ni-YSZ coating with low concentration of Ni showed dense columnar structure and exhibited increased porosity along the columnar boundaries with higher concentration of Ni. FESEM and XRD analyses suggest that the grains of the columnar growth could be along (111) plane of the YSZ phase. The elemental composition of individual layers constituting the compositionally graded Ni-YSZ was confirmed by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analysis. The nanoindentation analysis of the as deposited coatings showed an increase in the hardness from 1.7 to 9.1 GPa, reduced Young’s modulus from 48 to 168 GPa, elastic recovery from 15.03% to 32.78% and resistance to plastic deformation from 0.0021 to 0.027 with the increased Ni content. Scratch test confirmed superior adhesion of the Ni-YSZ (50 wt.%: 50 wt.%) nanocomposite coating with the substrate. Also, investigation on the scratch track of Ni-YSZ (50 wt.%:50 wt.%) coating did not reveal chipping or spallation of the coating throughout the scratch track indicating a good adherence of coating with the substrate. The structural and the nanomechanical properties of Ni-YSZ (50 wt.%:50 wt.%) nanocomposite coating suggest that it could be used as diffusion barrier coating in the components of nuclear vitrification furnaces which are operated at higher temperatures.

Fabrication stacking faults and its influence on the delamination behavior of SuperPower (SCS4050®) tapes

In this study, the authors investigated the evolution of the stacking faults (local defects) during film deposition and its influence on the delamination behavior (mechanisms) of SuperPower (SCS4050®) tapes using the DEM approach. The DEM approach was developed explicitly for the characterization of the evolution of the local defect in multilayered film structures. According to the study, major local defects in a multilayered film structure emerge from interlayer interactions as a function of temperature and time during the deposition of films unto the substrate. The interlayer interactions include the thermal coefficient of expansion mismatch and different eigenstates of layers in the tape. Also, the influence of the major film deposition methods (chemical and physical vapor deposition methods) on the evolution of the stacking faults in the tape was investigated. Under the given parameters, the results showed that the most vulnerable to the evolution of the local defects in the SuperPower (SCS4050®) tapes are the yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) interfaces and silver (Ag) layer. A comparison of the computed loss of bonding energy in the tape shows that, if a delamination test is carried out on the tape, above 80% of the delamination would occur around YBCO interfaces. Also, according to the stacking faults distribution with different film deposition method, it is practicable to minimize or localize stacking faults to a particular region of the tape. According to this study and previous studies, the computed results on the DEM approach are consistent with those on several valuable experiments and models in the literature.

Nb/Sb doping effects on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of CdO thin films: role of the hydrogenation—a comparative study

Niobium (Nb)- and antimony (Sb)-doped CdO thin films have been prepared on glass substrates by physical vapour deposition method in a vacuum environment. The films were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, optical absorption spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. The structure of the doped film samples preserved the CdO cubic structure. However, the band gap was shifted depending on the dopant type. Besides, it was observed that doping of Nb or Sb ions considerably improved the conduction parameters. However, the most important result was the significant enhancement of the carrier mobility of the host CdO:Nb film, in addition to the increasing in its conductivity and carrier concentration, which was attributed to the formation of multi-electron donors $${\text{Nb}}_{{{\text{Cd}}}}^{v - 2}$$ of v > 2. The band gap of host CdO suffered shrinkage by ~ 7% with Nb doping and widening by ~ 3% with Sb doping that was explained by the simultaneous effects of Moss–Burstein and Urbach phenomena. The influence of annealing of the films in hydrogen atmosphere (hydrogenation) was investigated for a purpose of increasing the carrier concentration and oxygen vacancies. The great effect of the hydrogenation on the conduction parameters was studied and discussed. From the transparent conducting oxide point of view, Nb is sufficiently effective for CdO doping and even emulates other metallic dopants such as Sb, In, Sn, Sc, and Y.

Preparation and Characterization of Paramagnetic Bis (8-Hydroxyquinoline) Manganese Crystals.

The magnetic properties of π-conjugated bis (8-hydroxyquinoline) manganese (Mnq2) crystals are investigated. Rod-shaped Mnq2 crystals are prepared by using the physical vapor deposition method. Field emission scanning electronic microscopy spectra show that the Mnq2 nanorods have perfect plane quadrangular ends. Energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis demonstrates that the powders and nanorods are the same compound with a high purity. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the high crystal quality of the prepared Mnq2 nanorods. The magnetic measurement, using alternating gradient magnetometer and magnetic property measurement system superconducting quantum interference device vibrating sample magnetometer, indicates that the prepared Mnq2 nanorods show a paramagnetic property at room temperature. First-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to study the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the prepared Mnq2 crystals. DFT calculations show that the magnetic moment of the Mnq2 isolated molecule is 5 μB, which mainly comes from the localized Mn 3d orbital. The energy difference between the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states of the Mnq2 monoclinic cell is only 0.1 meV, which may explain the paramagnetic property observed in the prepared Mnq2 nanorods and also indicates the difficulty of preparing intrinsic ferromagnetic Mnq2 crystals.

Experimental Study of the Influence of Deposition of Multilayer CrN/CrCN PVD Coating on Austenitic Steel on Resistance to Cavitation Erosion

The impact of deposition of multilayer CrN/CrCN coating on X6CrNiTi18-10 steel by means of the PVD (physical vapour deposition) method on resistance to cavitation erosion has been investigated. Cavitation tests were performed using a cavitation chamber with a barricade system at the inlet pressure p1 = 600 kPa and the outlet pressure p2 = 123 kPa. Deposition of CrN/CrCN coating allowed increasing duration of the incubation period and decreasing cumulative volume loss until 500 min of exposure. The erosion of the CrN/CrCN–X6CrNiTi18-10 system begins with the removal of microdroplets from the coating surface and surface undulation. The surface undulation increases with the exposure time leading to coating fracture in a brittle mode. Initiation sites of cracks were located inside the PVD coating. Measurements of surface roughness illustrate uneven degradation of the exposed surface and the location of slight and severe erosion zones. The Ra parameters obtained for the CrN/CrCN–X6CrNiTi18-10 system and X6CrNiTi18-10 steel after 180 min of erosion were comparable. An elongation of erosion test up to 600 min resulted in a higher increase in surface roughness of the CrN/CrCN coating–X6CrNiTi18-10 steel system in comparison to that of X6CrNiTi18-10 steel. With increasing exposition time, the rate of increase of the surface roughness decreased due to overlapping damage.

A Self‐Powered High‐Performance UV Photodetector Based on Core–Shell GaN/MoO3–x Nanorod Array Heterojunction

AbstractSelf‐powered UV photodetectors are highly desirable for applications in space communications and environmental monitoring. However, most self‐powered UV photodetectors exhibit unimpressive performance in weak signal detection. Herein, a self‐powered UV photodetector based on the core–shell GaN/MoO3–x nanorod array (NRA) heterojunction system is demonstrated. Homogeneous MoO3–x layers are deposited on GaN NRAs by a simple one‐step physical vapor deposition method. The photodetector device shows an ultrahigh specific detectivity of 2.7 × 1015 Jones at 355 nm without any power supply. Further analyses reveal a responsivity of 160 A W−1 and a high UV–vis rejection ratio (R355 nm/R400 nm) of 2.0 × 104 under zero bias. The self‐powered device also has a fast response speed with a rise/fall time of 73/90 µs. As a result, the self‐powered photodetector, featuring ultrahigh detectivity and responsivity along with fast response, exhibits great potential for applications in next‐generation UV detection. The core–shell NRA structure heterojunction design provides a valuable direction for realizing nanoscale self‐powered UV photodetectors.

Vanadium dioxide phase change thin films produced by thermal oxidation of metallic vanadium

VO2 phase change thin films are most commonly deposited by using reactive physical vapor deposition on heated substrates. In this paper, we report an alternative and more flexible method where vanadium metal films are first deposited using ordinary physical vapor deposition methods on unheated substrates, and subsequently thermally oxidized in a tube furnace to produce high quality VO2. There are several advantages to this method: it allows pre-patterning of the V films, which is significantly simpler than post-patterning VO2; and furnace oxidation is readily scalable to a large number of substrates and sizes, making this a much more manufacturable method compared to in-situ reactive methods. We have examined the physical and optical characteristics of these films using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, and Ellipsometry. The film evolution from V to VO2 was observed by in-situ optical monitoring during oxidation.

Scalable, Green Fabrication of Single-Crystal Noble Metal Films and Nanostructures for Low-Loss Nanotechnology Applications.

The confinement of spatially extended electromagnetic waves to nanometer-scale metal structures can be harnessed for application in information processing, energy harvesting, sensing, and catalysis. Metal nanostructures enable negative refractive index, subwavelength resolution imaging, and patterning through engineered metamaterials and promise technologies that will operate in the quantum plasmonics regime. However, the controlled fabrication of high-definition single-crystal subwavelength metal nanostructures has remained a significant hurdle due to the tendency for polycrystalline metal growth using conventional physical vapor deposition methods and the challenges associated with placing solution-grown nanocrystals in desired orientations and locations on a surface to manufacture functional devices. Here, we introduce a scalable and green wet chemical approach to monocrystalline noble metal thin films and nanostructures. The method enables the fabrication of ultrasmooth, epitaxial, single-crystal films of controllable thickness that are ideal for the subtractive manufacture of nanostructures through ion beam milling and additive crystalline nanostructure via lithographic patterning for large-area, single-crystal metasurfaces and high aspect ratio nanowires. Our single-crystal nanostructures demonstrate improved feature quality, pattern transfer yield, reduced optical and resistive losses, and tailored local fields to yield greater optical response and improved stability compared to those of polycrystalline structures-supporting greater local field enhancements and enabling practical advances at the nanoscale.

Modelling the Atomic Layer Deposition of Cobalt and Ruthenium on NHx-Terminated Metal Surfaces

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is widely used in microelectronics and semiconductor industry to deposit thin films as part of device fabrication in nano- or subnano-dimensions. The key advantages of ALD are the conformality and precise thickness control at the atomic scale, which are difficult for physical or traditional chemical vapor deposition methods. Cobalt (Co) and Ruthenium (Ru) are used as seed layers for metallization of interconnects. They are also potential materials for the electrode in dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) capacitors and metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Plasma-enhanced ALD (PE-ALD) is used for low-temperature thin film growth by alternating exposures of metal precursors and plasma reactants. During the PE-ALD growth of metals, N-plasma, for example, NH3 or a mixture of N2 and H2, has been applied to avoid surface metal oxidation. The PE-ALD of Ru and Co has been experimentally investigated using metal precursors such as RuCp2, Ru(EtCp)2, CoCp2, and CoCp(CO)2. However, the reaction mechanism is not clear and theoretical studies on the reaction mechanism is entirely lacking.In this presentation, we study the PE-ALD growth of Co and Ru by first principle calculations. The (001) surface of both metals, with a hexagonal structure, is the most stable and the (100) surface with a zigzag structure is less stable but has high reactivity. These two surfaces allow the study of the influence of the surface facet. The surface saturation coverage was studied by considering individual adsorption and co-adsorption of NH and NH2 to terminate both surfaces. On the (001) surface, the zero K saturation coverage for NH is 1ML on Ru and 6/9ML on Co. For NH2, the saturation coverages are 6/9ML on Co and Ru surfaces. On the (100) surface, the saturation coverages are 2ML for NH on Ru and Co surfaces, 1.33 ML for NH2 on Ru, and 1ML for NH2 on Co surface. The higher saturation coverage on (100) surface is attributed to the unique trench structure, which provides more available surface sites than that of (001) surface. We also consider co-adsorption of NH and NH2 on (001) and (100) surfaces. The results are then analyzed with ab initio thermodynamics by calculating the Gibbs free energy. Both the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) condition and standard ALD operating condition are used to elucidate the effect of pressure and temperature on the termination of metal surfaces.The adsorption and reactions of metal precursors (CoCp2 and RuCp2) on NHx terminated metal surfaces were investigated with the inclusion of van der Waals corrections. Two possible adsorption structures, namely the precursor lying parallel and perpendicular to the NHx-terminated surfaces, were considered at zero K and ALD operating conditions. Possible reactions include: precursor adsorption, first hydrogen transfer, first Cp ligand dissociation, first Cp ligand desorption, second hydrogen transfer, and second Cp ligand desorption. The barrier for proton transfer was calculated using climbing image nudged elastic band (CI-NEB) method. Our results show that (100) surface has higher activity than (001) surface. In addition, the Cp ligand elimination of CoCp2 has lower barrier than RuCp2, regardless of surface facet. After the metal precursor pulse, the surface is terminated with MCp fragment or M atom depending on surface facet, where M is Ru or Co. The surface N atom and H atom can be eliminated during the following plasma step by forming NH3, N2 or H2. After a full cycle, the surface is an NHx-terminated metal surface and ready for the next cycle. This work will be important to reveal the mechanism and feasibility of atomic layer deposition of metals using N-plasma.

Annealing Influence on Nanostructure's Optical Properties CdS Thin Films Prepared by Physical Vapor Deposition Technique

In this work, the influence of the annealing temperature on the optical properties of the thin films Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) has been studied. Thin films of Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) were made using the Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method. The optical properties of annealing temperatures (as deposited, 200, 250, and 300 ) were scrupulous. The UV/VIS spectrophotometer investigated optical parameters such as transmission, the coefficient of absorption and energy gap of the films for the range (400-110 nm) as an assignment of the annealing temperature. The optical properties were calculated as a function of annealed temperature: absorption, transmission, reflection, band gap, coefficient of absorption, excitation coefficient and index of refraction.

Comparing electrochemical behavior of applied CrN/TiN nanoscale multilayer and TiN single-layer coatings deposited by CAE-PVD method

ABSTRACT The main goal of this study is to compare the electrochemical behavior of CrN/TiN multilayer coating and TiN single-layer coating applied by cathodic arc evaporation (CAE) -physical vapor deposition (PVD) on the substrate of Ti-6Al-4 V in Hank’s solution. So, a TiN single-layer coating was formed using PVD method as well as CrN/TiN multilayer coating under totally the same conditions including deposition temperature, working pressure, bias voltage, cathode current and deposition time. To identify the phases in the coatings, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was utilized in order and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used in order to study the microstructure of coating. Potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests were also carried out for corrosion measurements. In the corrosion evaluation, the PDP and EIS tests were performed for the samples after immersion in Hank’s solution for 24 hours to reach the steady state. The obtained results from PDP curves showed that the specimen with CrN/TiN multilayer coating exhibited better corrosion behavior than the TiN single-layer coatings. This improvement in corrosion resistance is probably due to the high density of the layers in the CrN/TiN multilayer coating that prevents the penetration of the corrosive solution to the substrate.

Interface formation of Al2O3 on carbon enriched 6H-SiC(0001): Photoelectron spectroscopy studies

The physical vapor deposition method is used to form layers of Al2O3 insulator on carbon enriched (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC substrate at room temperature. The substrate surface and the Al2O3/6H-SiC interface are characterized in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The electron affinity (EA) of the pre-annealed up to 800 °C under ultrahigh vacuum 6H-SiC(0001) surface and the 7 nm thick Al2O3 layer deposited on the substrate amounts to 4.1 eV, and 1.9 eV respectively. The formation of the Al2O3 compound is confirmed by the appropriate binding energies of Al-2p and O-1s core level lines, which are 75.6 eV and 532.3 eV, respectively. The valence band offset (VBO) of the Al2O3/6H-SiC interface is found to be −3.2 eV and the conduction band offset is calculated to be 0.7 eV.

Structure and corrosion behavior of TiO2 thin films deposited onto Mg-based alloy using magnetron sputtering and sol-gel

Recently, magnesium and its alloys have been investigated as potential candidates for orthopedic implants, due to their numerous beneficial mechanical properties. Nevertheless, magnesium is characterized by its poor corrosion resistance in chloride-rich environment, present in the human body. Unfortunately, this major disadvantage limits the biomedical applications of magnesium alloys. The corrosion rate of these materials can be decreased with the use of oxide films (e.g. ZnO, TiO2, MgO).In the article, a comparison was conducted, with regard to the structure and corrosion behavior of TiO2 films, with the thickness of about 300 nm, deposited onto MgCa4Zn1Gd1 alloy by magnetron sputtering and spin coating methods. The structure observations of the oxide films in scanning electron microscopy are also presented. The phase analysis using X-ray diffractometer and structure identification using the Raman spectrometer are also shown. Moreover, the paper also includes a discussion on the topography observations and roughness measurements in atomic force microscopy. The results of the potentiodynamic and immersion tests of corrosion resistance of TiO2 films in Ringer's solution at 310.15 K are also presented.The analysis of investigation results shows that both of the studied films have an anatase structure. The surface of TiO2 applied using the magnetron sputtering method is characterized by smaller and more uniform grains, compared to the film applied via spin coating. TiO2 applied using the physical vapor deposition method has a slightly higher electrochemical corrosion resistance. The results of immersion tests have shown, that the alloy with TiO2 film deposited by sol-gel is more resistant to corrosion.

Microstructures and properties of PVD TiAlN coating deposited on cermets with different Ti(C, N) grain size

In the present work, TiAlN coatings were deposited on Ti(C, N)-based cermet substrates by physical vapor deposition method. Emphasis was focused on the influence of grain size of cermet substrates on the microstructure, growth behavior, mechanical properties, adhesion strength and wear behavior of the coatings. The results show that finer Ti(C, N) grain size leads to higher nucleation density and lower growth rate of coatings, indicating the crystallite size of the TiAlN coatings decreases with decreasing Ti(C, N) grain size. Nanoindentation tests show that the coatings deposited on cermets of the finest grain size exhibit the highest hardness (H), elastic modulus (E), H/E and H3/E2 of 34.5 GPa, 433.2 GPa, 0.080 and 0.22, respectively. The adhesion strength between coating and substrate is also enhanced with decreasing Ti(C, N) grain size by scratch test, which corresponds to the grain size and H/E and H3/E2 of the coating. Besides, the lower surface roughness and better mechanical properties of the coating deposited on finer grained cermet contribute to the better wear resistance of the coating.

Photoresponse investigation of polycrystalline gallium antimonide (GaSb) thin films

Thin films of polycrystalline gallium antimonide (GaSb) were grown on widely available mica substrates using the physical vapor deposition method. The as-grown films contain grains of nano-scale with regular symmetries, as identified by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analysis. Two-terminal devices with coplanar electrodes were fabricated from the polycrystalline GaSb films; thus, the time dependent photoresponse property of the films was investigated by measuring the current density–voltage characteristics of devices. A significant photoresponse of the device was revealed by the linear dependence of the applied bias. Additionally, the transient behavior of the GaSb thin films was used to optimize growth temperatures of the films. This study shows that polycrystalline GaSb thin films on mica at 500 °C are suitable for high photoresponse and low noise IR photodetectors, thus proving to be a low cost solution for IR photodetectors.

Simultaneous Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater Using Modified Sodium Montmorillonite Nanoclay.

Sodium montmorillonite nanoclay particles were modified by 3-aminopropyltrimetoxysilane using a physical vapor deposition method and applied for the simultaneous removal of Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni heavy metals from wastewater samples. Experiments were performed in both batch and column systems. Several parameters that influence the removal efficiency, such as the pH, contact time, amount of adsorbent, interfering ions, flow rate of sample passage and eluent solvent, were evaluated and optimized. The results showed that the adsorption isotherms obeyed Langmuir isotherms for all heavy metals. Also, interfering ions did not influenced the removal efficiency. Finally, modified nanoclay successfully could remove all heavy metals from real wastewater samples to near completeness.

Investigations into friction and wear behavior of AlTiN and AlCrN coatings deposited on laser textured WC/Co using novel open tribometer tests

During metal cutting with the textured tools, a variable local friction exists due to differences in the contact behavior owing to the presence of microtextures. The available periodic or aperiodic microscopic hierarchy on the textured tool surface changes the tribological characteristics and metal cutting performances. The friction and wear characteristics are difficult to ascertain in the metal cutting tests as the chips continuously slide over the tool rake face under dynamic wear conditions. The present study is conducted to closely predict the frictional coefficient and wear mechanisms for textured carbide cutting tools using an open tribometer. Tests have been performed to evaluate the tribological performance of hard coatings deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method on laser textured WC/Co surfaces. PVD AlTiN and AlCrN coated plain and microhole textured WC/Co pins were tested against rotating Ti6Al4V counterpart to predict the extreme pressure tribological behavior. The results were evaluated in terms of the coefficient of friction, wear mechanisms, coating degradation behavior and surface damages. Coating and texturing on the carbide pins reduced the friction by 27% compared to uncoated plain carbide pins.

Synthesis of Multiwall Boron Nitride (BN) Nanotubes by a PVD Method Based on Vapor-Liquid-Solid Growth.

Multiwall boron nitride (BN) nanotubes were synthesized by a novel physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, in which the BN nanotubes grow on a compact substrate composed of AlN, γ-Al2O3, Y2O3, and carbon powders. The obtained BN nanotubes assemble in an orderly manner with a typical length of over one millimeter and a diameter of one-hundred nanometers. The hollow multiwall tubes have a spherical tip, which is presumed to be a liquid drop at the synthesis temperature, indicating the vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism.

The High Anisotropy of the Epitaxial Growth of the Well-Aligned Sb2Se3 Nanoribbons on Mica.

One-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures, which are different from those of bulk materials, have attracted considerable interest in either scientific research or practical application. Herein, the Sb2Se3 nanoribbons have been successfully synthesized by the epitaxial growth process on mica using the rapid physical vapor deposition method. The density of the Sb2Se3 nanoribbons increased quickly when the temperature decreased, and finally, the nanoribbons connected to each other and formed a network structure even in film. These nanoribbons were all well aligned along the preferred direction that either is parallel to each other or forms 60° angles. Further structural investigation demonstrated that the Sb2Se3 nanoribbons grew along the [001] directions, which are aligned along the directions [11̅0] and [100] or [100] and [110] on the mica surface. Then, an asymmetric lattice mismatch growth mechanism causing incommensurate heteroepitaxial lattice match between the Sb2Se3 and mica crystal structure was suggested. Furthermore, a polarized photodetector based on the film with the well-aligned Sb2Se3 nanoribbons was constructed, which illustrated strong photosensitivity and high anisotropic in-plane transport either in the dark or under light. The incommensurate heteroepitaxial growth method shown here may provide access to realize well-ordered nanostructures of other inorganic materials and promote the anisotropic photodetector industrialization.

Stable p‐type Cu:CdS1−xSex/Pt Thin‐Film Photocathodes with Fully Tunable Bandgap for Scavenger‐Free Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Natural Cd‐based group II–VI semiconductors in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells are normally used as photoanodes, whose applications are hence hindered by the heavy anodic photocorrosion. Herein, a series of p‐type Cu‐doped CdS1−xSex alloy thin films as photocathodes for water splitting is reported. These alloyed films, synthesized via a simple but well‐controlled physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, are fully tunable in chemical composition, which leads to a tunable bandgap from 1.69 to 2.40 eV. Benefiting from the broadened visible light response, the Cu:CdS0.7Se0.3 photocathode with Pt nanoparticles (NPs) as cocatalysts shows a 37% higher photocurrent density and a higher Faradaic efficiency compared with previously reported Cu:CdS/Pt. More importantly, good stability of the Cu:CdS0.7Se0.3/Pt photocathode in scavenger‐free electrolyte for PEC water splitting is first achieved, with 80% remaining photocurrent and no significant change in 5 h. The released Cd2+ in the electrolyte for the p‐type Cu:CdS1−xSex/Pt photocathode is suppressed by more than three orders of magnitude as compared with a traditional n‐type CdS1−xSex/Pt photoanode. The results reveal the feasibility of Cd‐based group II–VI materials as the thin‐film photocathode for PEC water splitting. The tunable bandgap and durability of p‐type Cu:CdS1−xSex can contribute to future heterojunction structure design in PEC cells.