Hybrid CuFe-CoFe prussian blue catalysts on BiVO4for enhanced charge separation and injection for photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Abstract

The utilization of cocatalysts on the photoelectrode surface is a feasible strategy to achieve a high photocurrent density in the photoelectrochemical water oxidation process. The catalysts can enhance the activity by improving the reaction kinetics, retarding charge carrier recombination, or accumulating charge carriers. In this work, we have utilized a CuFe–CoFe Prussian blue (PB) catalyst layer on the BiVO4 photoanode surface to enhance its water oxidation activity. The hybrid catalyst, in which the semiprecious cobalt ions are partially substituted with earth-abundant copper ions, exhibits 56% higher photocurrent density than the CoFe PB-modified BiVO4. We show that photogenerated hole accumulation is present in the CuFe PB layer, which results in higher charge extraction from the BiVO4 surface. The CoFe PB layer on top of the CuFe one facilitates the charge transfer due to its catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).