WO3/Conducting Polymer Heterojunction Photoanodes for Efficient and Stable Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

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Abstract
An efficient and stable heterojunction photoanode for solar water oxidation was fabricated by hybridization of WO3 and conducting polymers. Organic/inorganic hybrid photoanodes were readily prepared by electropolymerization of various conducting polymers and co-deposition of tetraruthenium polyoxometalate (Ru4POM) water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) on the surface of WO3. The deposition of conducting polymers, especially polypyrrole (PPy) doped with Ru4POM (PPy:Ru4POM) resulted in a remarkably improved photoelectrochemical performance by formation of a WO3/PPy p-n heterojunction and incorporation of efficient Ru4POM WOCs. In addition, there was also a significant improvement in the photostability of the WO3-based photoanode after the deposition of the PPy:Ru4POM layer due to the suppression of the formation of hydrogen peroxide responsible for corrosion. We believe that the present study provides insight into the design and fabrication of novel photosynthetic and photocatalytic systems with excellent performance and stability through hybridization of organic and inorganic materials.
Funding Information
  • Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (1.180014.01)
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2015R1C1A1A02037698, NRF-2017M3A7B4052802)

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