Liquid metal-embraced photoactive films for artificial photosynthesis
Chao Zhen, Xiangtao Chen, Ruotian Chen, Fengtao Fan, Xiaoxiang Xu, Yuyang Kang, Jingdong Guo, Lianzhou Wang, Gao Qing Lu, Kazunari Domen, Hui–Ming Cheng, Gang Liu
Abstract
Abstract The practical applications of solar-driven water splitting pivot on significant advances that enable scalable production of robust photoactive films. Here, we propose a proof-of-concept for fabricating robust photoactive films by a particle-implanting technique (PiP) which embeds semiconductor photoabsorbers in the liquid metal. The strong semiconductor/metal interaction enables resulting films efficient collection of photogenerated charges and superior photoactivity. A photoanode of liquid-metal embraced BiVO 4 can stably operate over 120 h and retain ~ 70% of activity when scaled from 1 to 64 cm 2 . Furthermore, a Z-scheme photocatalyst film of liquid-metal embraced BiVO 4 and Rh-doped SrTiO 3 particles can drive overall water splitting under visible light, delivering an activity 2.9 times higher than that of the control film with gold support and a 110 h stability. These results demonstrate the advantages of the PiP technique in constructing robust and efficient photoactive films for artificial photosynthesis.