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    Fe2O3/Cu2O一体化陶瓷光电极应用于光电催化分解水的实证研究

    An empirical study of Fe2O3/Cu2O monolithic ceramic photoelectrodes for photoelectrocatalytic water splitting

    • 摘要: 传统FTO基薄膜光电极在光电催化分解水过程中,普遍存在活性层与导电基底界面结合力弱、长期运行易脱落等固有问题,严重制约了光电极的服役寿命与器件可靠性。为从根本上解决上述界面失效瓶颈,提出一体化陶瓷光电极策略,通过消除“基底–活性层”二元界面,探索构筑兼具高结构稳定性和优异光电化学性能的新型光电极。以商用Fe2O3和Cu2O粉末为模型材料,采用压片–固相烧结工艺,分别在空气和氩气气氛下制备了一体化陶瓷光阳极与陶瓷光阴极。通过XRD、SEM、UV-Vis DRS、Mott-Schottky、EIS等手段系统表征了电极的物相结构、微观形貌、光学吸收及界面电荷转移动力学;在模拟太阳光(AM 1.5G,100 mW/cm2)下,通过LSV、J-t、IPCE等光电化学测试评价了单电极的光电催化活性和稳定性;进一步将Fe2O3陶瓷光阳极与Cu2O陶瓷光阴极串联组装为全池,验证其在无外加偏压下的全分解水性能。结果表明:陶瓷电极保持了Fe2O3和Cu2O的本征晶相,形成了厚度达毫米级、无分层的致密多晶骨架。相比于薄膜电极,陶瓷电极的载流子密度提高约1个数量级,界面电荷转移电阻降低4.7~8.0倍。Cu2O陶瓷光阴极在−0.61 V vs. Ag/AgCl下的光电流密度达287.35 μA/cm2,IPCE达17.01%;Fe2O3陶瓷光阳极IPCE达12.25%。经1000 s连续测试,陶瓷电极的光电流保持率(64%)显著优于薄膜电极(39%),且反应后表面形貌完整,XRD检测限内未观察到明显杂相,而薄膜电极出现明显活性层脱落。串联全池在无偏压下光阴极侧和光阳极侧光电流密度分别为−0.32和0.37 mA/cm2,ABPE分别为0.01%和0.04%,验证了全陶瓷电极从单电极拓展至器件层面的可行性。本研究证实,陶瓷一体化结构通过消除薄膜–基底界面、高致密度阻隔电解液渗透及连续化学键网络促进电荷传输的协同机制,可有效提升光电极的结构稳定性与光电化学性能。研究为发展高稳定性、低成本的一体化光电极提供了新的设计思路和实验依据。

       

      Abstract: Conventional FTO-based thin-film photoelectrodes for photoelectrocatalytic water splitting suffer from inherent drawbacks including weak interfacial adhesion between the active layer and the conductive substrate, as well as susceptibility to active layer detachment during prolonged operation, which severely compromise the service lifetime and device reliability of photoelectrodes. To fundamentally address the above bottleneck of interfacial failure, this study proposes an integrated ceramic photoelectrode strategy, aiming to explore a novel photoelectrode architecture with both high structural stability and excellent photoelectrochemical performance by eliminating the “substrate-active layer” binary interface. Commercially available Fe2O3 and Cu2O powders were employed as model materials to fabricate integrated ceramic photoanodes and photocathodes via a pressing–solid-state sintering process under air and argon atmospheres, respectively. The phase structure, morphology, optical absorption, and interfacial charge transfer kinetics of the electrodes were systematically characterized by XRD, SEM, UV-Vis DRS, Mott-Schottky analysis, and EIS. The photoelectrocatalytic activity and stability of the single electrodes were evaluated by LSV, chronoamperometry (J-t), and IPCE measurements under simulated solar illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW/cm2). Furthermore, a tandem full cell was assembled by connecting the Fe2O3 ceramic photoanode and Cu2O ceramic photocathode in series to evaluate its unbiased overall water splitting performance. The ceramic electrodes retained the intrinsic crystalline phases of Fe2O3 and Cu2O, forming millimeter-thick dense polycrystalline skeletons without delamination. Compared with thin-film electrodes, the ceramic electrodes exhibited an approximately one order of magnitude higher carrier density and a 4.7- to 8-fold reduction in interfacial charge transfer resistance. The Cu2O ceramic photocathode achieved a photocurrent density of 287.35 μA/cm2 at −0.61 V vs. Ag/AgCl with an IPCE of 17.01%, while the Fe2O3 ceramic photoanode achieved an IPCE of 12.25%. After 1000 s of continuous testing, the ceramic electrode retained 64% of its initial photocurrent, substantially outperforming the thin-film electrode (39%). Post-reaction characterization revealed intact surface morphology and no detectable impurity phases within the XRD detection limit for the ceramic electrode, whereas the thin-film electrode exhibited severe active layer detachment. The tandem full cell assembled from the two ceramic electrodes delivered photocurrent densities of −0.32 and 0.37 mA/cm2 at the photocathode and photoanode sides, respectively, under unbiased conditions, with ABPE values of 0.01% and 0.04%, demonstrating the feasibility of extending all-ceramic photoelectrodes from single-electrode to device-level applications. This study confirms that the integrated ceramic architecture effectively enhances the structural stability and photoelectrochemical performance of photoelectrodes through a synergistic mechanism involving the elimination of interfacial failure, suppression of electrolyte permeation via high density, and facilitation of charge transport through continuous chemical bond networks. This work provides a new design paradigm and experimental basis for developing highly stable and low-cost integrated photoelectrodes.

       

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