Tufted hierarchical heterostructure of In2S3/WO3 photoanodes for unbiased hydrogen evolution reaction under visible light illumination

摘要

? 2022 Elsevier B.V.We report the fabrication of an In2S3 tufted nanostructure on WO3 as a hierarchical heterostructure for visible-light-driven water-splitting applications. The hydrothermally grown self-assembled In2S3 tufted arrays on WO3 platelets are visible light-absorbing semiconductor photocatalysts. The structural and morphological features corroborate the unique tufted nanostructure. The In2S3/WO3 photoanode results in a fivefold increment of photocurrent density (1.01 mA/cm2) at 0.2 V vs Ag/AgCl under visible light illumination compared to the pristine WO3 photoanode. The type-II n-type In2S3/WO3 heterostructure favors the electron-hole separation and enforces the large photo potential (?0.98 V vs Ag/AgCl) under visible light illumination. The enhanced PEC activity of the In2S3/WO3 photoanode can be attributed to the reduced charge transfer resistance and higher open circuit potential. Substantial stability and photocurrent retention (77 %) are achieved for the In2S3 tuft grown on WO3 with 0.55 % of photon-to-electronic conversion efficiency.