Enhanced Water Splitting Using a Densely Structured Dendritic Bismuthinite Photoanode with FeOOH Cocatalyst
Amze M. Kudryashov V. Magazov Y. Aliyev A. Nuraje N.
2025American Chemical Society
ACS Omega
2025#10Issue 4351657 - 51665 pp.
Solar water splitting is a promising method for sustainable hydrogen production, but current systems suffer from efficiency limitations. Bismuth sulfide (Bi2 S3), a semiconductor with desirable optical properties and a suitable band gap for water oxidation, has drawn considerable interest for its potential. Despite various approaches, including organic- and inorganic-based heterostructures and plasmonic enhancement, the efficiency of Bi2 S3 -based photoelectrodes remains below the theoretical maximum, primarily due to severe charge recombination and sluggish surface reactions. This study addresses these issues through morphology engineering and surface functionalization. A densely packed dendritic Bi2 S3 photoanode, obtained from an electrochemically deposited bismuth metal sacrificial structure, exhibited enhanced light absorption, while decoration with an ultrathin layer of an oxyhydroxide cocatalyst further contributed to efficiency by improving surface reaction kinetics. After these modifications, the photocurrent of the Bi2 S3 /FeOOH photoanode increased 1.7 times from 2.2 mA·cm–2 (1.23 V vs RHE) to 3.7 mA·cm–2 compared to the pristine Bi2 S3. The solar energy conversion efficiency showed a 3-fold increase at low bias potentials, and its photon-to-current conversion efficiency improved 1.5-fold (32–48% @ 600 nm). This work underscores the importance of the morphology and surface modifications in advancing the efficiency of photoanodes for solar water splitting.
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Renewable Energy Lab, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, 53 Kabanbay Batyr Avenue, Astana, 010000, Kazakhstan
Renewable Energy Lab
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
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