Facile fabrication and efficient photoelectrochemical water-splitting activity of electrodeposited nickel/SiC nanowires composite electrode

The nickel-SiC nanowires composite electrode with high photoelectrocatalytic activity for water splitting in alkaline solution was fabricated via constant current electrodeposition. Compared with pristine SiC nanowires, this photocathode with a three-dimensional porous structure produced a current density of − 32.4 mA cm− 2 at 1.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The enhanced performance was ascribed to efficient photogenerated carriers separation resulting from the heterostructure interface of Ni metal and SiC semiconductor. Moreover, this photocathode showed high stability in KOH solution over 600s' continuous reaction, which suggests a promising application in alkaline conditions for photocatalysis and PEC water splitting.