Photoelectrochemical Performance of a CuBi2O4 Photocathode with H2O2 as a Scavenger

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is an eco-friendly method for producing clean and sustainable hydrogen fuels. Compared with the fabrication of solar hydrogen using n-type metal oxide semiconductor photoanodes, that of solar hydrogen using p-type metal oxide semiconductor photocathodes has not been researched as thoroughly. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of drop casting time on the PEC performance of a prepared CuBi2O4 photocathode. XPS, HRTEM, UV-DRS, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM analyses were used to characterize the prepared CuBi2O4 photocathode. Owing to the high charge separation and transfer, the photocurrent density of the CuBi2O4 photocathode was similar to 0.6 mA cm(-2) at 0.3 V vs. RHE. The nanoporous CuBi2O4 photocathode exhibited a high photocurrent density of up to 1.2 mA cm(-2) at 0.3 V vs. RHE with H2O2 as a sacrificial agent. Mott-Schottky and impedance measurements were also performed on the CuBi2O4 photocathode to estimate its acceptor density and charge-transfer resistance.