Abstract
N-type metal oxides such as hematite (α-Fe2O3) and bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) are promising candidate materials for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting; however, their short minority carrier diffusion length and restricted carrier lifetime result in undesired rapid charge recombination. Herein, a 2D arranged globular Au nanosphere (NS) monolayer array with a highly ordered hexagonal hole pattern (hereafter, Au array) is introduced onto the surface of photoanodes comprised of metal oxide films via a facile drying and transfer-printing process. Through plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer, the Au array provides a strong electromagnetic field in the near-surface area of the metal oxide film. The near-field coupling interaction and amplification of the electromagnetic field suppress the charge recombination with long-lived photogenerated holes and simultaneously enhance the light harvesting and charge transfer efficiencies. Consequently, an over 3.3-fold higher photocurrent density at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) is achieved for the Au array/α-Fe2O3. Furthermore, the high versatility of this transfer printing of Au arrays is demonstrated by introducing it on the molybdenum-doped BiVO4 film, resulting in 1.5-fold higher photocurrent density at 1.23 V versus RHE. The tailored metal film design can provide a potential strategy for the versatile application in various light-mediated energy conversion and optoelectronic devices.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2000570 |
Journal | Advanced Energy Materials |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 22 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jun 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Y.M.C. and B.W.L. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by Samsung Research Funding Center for Samsung Electronics under Project Number SRFC‐MA1402‐09. J.L. acknowledges National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST)(No. 2019M3E6A1103999).
Funding Information:
Y.M.C. and B.W.L. contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by Samsung Research Funding Center for Samsung Electronics under Project Number SRFC-MA1402-09. J.L. acknowledges National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST)(No. 2019M3E6A1103999).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Keywords
- 2D pattern array
- gold nanospheres
- metal oxide photoanodes
- solar water splitting