Black phosphorene as a hole extraction layer boosting solar water splitting of oxygen evolution catalysts

As the development of oxygen evolution co-catalysts (OECs) is being actively undertaken, the tailored integration of those OECs with photoanodes is expected to be a plausible avenue for achieving highly efficient solar-assisted water splitting. Here, we demonstrate that a black phosphorene (BP) layer, inserted between the OEC and BiVO(4) can improve the photoelectrochemical performance of pre-optimized OEC/BiVO(4) (OEC: NiOOH, MnO(x,) and CoOOH) systems by 1.2∼1.6-fold, while the OEC overlayer, in turn, can suppress BP self-oxidation to achieve a high durability. A photocurrent density of 4.48 mA·cm(−2) at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) is achieved by the NiOOH/BP/BiVO(4) photoanode. It is found that the intrinsic p-type BP can boost hole extraction from BiVO(4) and prolong holes trapping lifetime on BiVO(4) surface. This work sheds light on the design of BP-based devices for application in solar to fuel conversion, and also suggests a promising nexus between semiconductor and electrocatalyst.