On the structural evolution of nanoporous optically transparent CuO photocathodes upon calcination for photoelectrochemical applications
Lukas Korell, Stefan Lauterbach, Jana Timm, Li Wang, Maximilian Mellin, Anna Kundmann, Qingyang Wu, Chuanmu Tian, Roland Marschall, Jan P. Hofmann, Frank E. Osterloh, Marcus Einert
Abstract
RHE (air mass (AM) 1.5). However, the photocurrents were found to be entirely due to photocorrosion of the films and decay to near zero over the course of 20 min under AM 1.5 illumination. These fundamental results on the structural and morphological development upon calcination provide a direction and show the necessity for further (surface) treatment of sol-gel derived CuO photocathodes for photoelectrochemical applications. The study demonstrates how to control the size of nanopores starting from mesopore formation at 400 °C to the evolution of macroporous frameworks at 750 °C.