Earth‐Abundant Tin Sulfide‐Based Photocathodes for Solar Hydrogen Production

摘要

Tin‐based chalcogenide semiconductors, though attractive materials for photovoltaics, have to date exhibited poor performance and stability for photoelectrochemical applications. Here, a novel strategy is reported to improve performance and stability of tin monosulfide (SnS) nanoplatelet thin films for H 2 production in acidic media without any use of sacrificial reagent. P‐type SnS nanoplatelet films are coated with the n ‐CdS buffer layer and the TiO 2 passivation layer to form type II heterojunction photocathodes. These photocathodes with subsequent deposition of Pt nanoparticles generate a photovoltage of 300 mV and a photocurrent density of 2.4 mA cm ?2 at 0 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for water splitting under simulated visible‐light illumination (λ 500 nm, P in = 80 mW cm ?2 ). The incident photon‐to‐current efficiency at 0 V versus RHE for H 2 production reach a maximum of 12.7% at 575 nm with internal quantum efficiency of 13.8%. The faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution remains close to unity after 6000 s of illumination, confirming the robustness of the heterojunction for solar H 2 production.