A tandem photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell consisting of a Cu₂O/Ni(OH)₂ photocathode and a ZnO/Au photoanode was investigated for unassisted solar water splitting. It was found that the two photoelectrodes were optically matched in UV and visible range, according to the absorbed luminous flux. Compared with the bare Cu₂O photocathode, the Cu₂O/Ni(OH)₂ photocathode had larger photocurrent and smaller onset potential, because the Ni(OH)₂ electrocatalysts reduced charge recombination and the overpotential for hydrogen evolution. The tandem PEC cell achieved a photoconversion efficiency of about 0.20% under 1 sun illumination. The results indicate that metal oxide semiconductors synthesized via facile and scalable solution methods are promising photoelectrode materials for unassisted solar water splitting.

研究了由Cu ₂ O / Ni（OH）₂光电阴极和ZnO / Au光电阳极组成的串联光电化学（PEC）电池用于无辅助的太阳能水分解。根据吸收的光通量，发现两个光电电极在紫外和可见光范围内光学匹配。与裸铜相比₂ Ó光电阴极中，Cu ₂ O /镍（OH）₂的光电阴极具有较大的光电流和较小的开始电位，因为在Ni（OH）₂电催化剂减少了电荷的重组，并减少了氢释放的超电势。串联式PEC电池在1个阳光照射下实现了约0.20％的光转换效率。结果表明，通过简便且可扩展的溶液方法合成的金属氧化物半导体是用于无辅助太阳能水分解的有前途的光电极材料。