Citation: Fangming Zhao, Xingming Ning, Li Xu, Pei Chen, Zhongwei An, Xinbing Chen. Engineering semiconductor/electrocatalyst interface for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(6): 112026. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112026 shu

Engineering semiconductor/electrocatalyst interface for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry (MOE), Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Devices, Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Energy Technology, International Joint Research Center of Shaanxi Province for Photoelectric Materials Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710119, China

ningxingming@snnu.edu.cn

chenpei@snnu.edu.cn

chenxinbing@snnu.edu.cn

Received Date: 29 April 2025
Revised Date: 28 August 2025
Accepted Date: 26 October 2025
Available Online: 27 October 2025

Figures(4)

Loading transition metal oxyhydroxides (TMOH) electrocatalyst on semiconductors (SC) improves the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance. However, the inevitable interface charge recombination between SC and TMOH hinders the PEC efficiency. Herein, differing from the conventional charge transfer process, a novel charge modulation layer, i.e., Ce-CoO_x, like a "hole transporter" has been incorporated into the SC/TMOH system. A series of electrochemical characterizations confirm that the "hole transporter" can directly and rapidly transfer holes from BiVO₄ to FeNiOOH, resulting in a highly efficient charge separation. As expected, the BiVO₄/Ce-CoO_x/FeNiOOH photoanode presents a desirable photocurrent of 6.0 mA/cm² and good stability. More importantly, the smart approach can also be extended to BiVO₄/Ce-NiO_x/FeNiOOH system, proving its universality. This work opens up a new avenue for designing efficient photoanode for PEC water splitting.
- Photoelectrochemical water splitting,
- Interface charge recombination,
- Hole transporter,
- Charge transfer kinetics,
- Charge separation
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