ZnO photoanodes coated with Ni-based nanostructured electrocatalyst for water oxidation

Among plenty of oxygen evolution reaction catalysts, Ni-based electrocatalysts have gained special attention because of their earth abundant nature and their good water oxidation potential. In this paper, we explored the application of Ni-based electrocatalysts in ZnO pohotoanode in order to improve its photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance for overall water splitting. Ni and Ni(OH)2 nanostructured electrocatalysts were fabricated on ZnO photoanodes using E-beam evaporation and cathodic electrodeposition, respectively. XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM and XPS were implemented to investigate the structure and composition of the prepared films. A three-electrode electrochemical cell configuration was performed to measure the PEC performance. The results demonstrate that introducing Ni(OH)2 electrocatalysts can effectively facilitate the PEC performance of ZnO photoanodes, which suggests a promising route toward high performance photoanode design for efficient solar energy conversion.