Hybrid photocathode based on a Ni molecular catalyst and Sb2Se3 for solar H2 production

Abstract

We report a H2 evolving hybrid photocathode based on Sb2Se3 and a precious metal free molecular catalyst. Through the use of a high surface area TiO2 scaffold, we successfully increased the Ni molecular catalyst loading from 7.08 ± 0.43 to 45.76 ± 0.81 nmol cm−2, achieving photocurrents of 1.3 mA cm−2 at 0 V vs. RHE, which is 81-fold higher than the device without the TiO2 mesoporous layer