Performance and Mechanism of Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of MoSx/WO3 Heterostructures Obtained by Reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition for Water Splitting

Abstract

This work studies the factors that affect the efficiency of the photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using MoSx/WO3 nano-heterostructures obtained by reactive pulsed laser deposition (RPLD) on glass substrates covered with fluorinated tin oxide (FTO). Another focus of the research is the potential of MoSx nanofilms as a precursor for MoOz(S) nanofilms, which enhance the efficiency of the photo-activated oxygen evolution reaction (OER) using the MoOz(S)/WO3/FTO heterostructures. The nanocrystalline WO3 film was created by laser ablation of a W target in dry air at a substrate temperature of 420 °C. Amorphous MoSx nanofilms (2 ≤ x ≤ 12) were obtained by laser ablation of an Mo target in H2S gas of varied pressure at room temperature of the substrate. Studies of the energy band structures showed that for all MoSx/WO3/FTO samples, photo-activated HER in an acid solution proceeded through the Z-scheme. The highest photoelectrochemical HER efficiency (a photocurrent density ~1 mA/cm2 at a potential of ~0 V under Xe lamp illumination (~100 mW/cm2)) was found for porous MoS4.5 films containing the highest concentration of catalytically active sites attributed to S ligands. During the anodic posttreatment of porous MoSx nanofilms, MoOz(S) films with a narrow energy band gap were formed. The highest OER efficiency (a photocurrent density ~5.3 mA/cm2 at 1.6 V) was detected for MoOz(S)/WO3/FTO photoanodes that were prepared by posttreatment of the MoSx~3.2 precursor. The MoOz(S) film contributed to the effective photogeneration of electron–hole pairs that was followed by the transport of photoelectrons from MoOz(S) into the WO3 film and the effective participation of holes possessing strong oxidation ability in the OER on the surface of the MoOz(S) film.