2025/10/25 by Sanghyun Bae, Thomas Moehl, David Yong +2 · 1 voice
Materials Science · Energy · #Copper-based nanomaterials and applications #Iron oxide chemistry and applications #Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides
paper · doi:10.1016/j.joule.2025.102172
openalex publication_date 2025/10/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
The development of efficient, stable, and earth-abundant photoanodes for solar water oxidation is critical to advancing photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic systems for large-scale renewable fuel production. Here, we demonstrate that p-type Cu 2 O, typically studied as a photocathode material, can be used as a high-performance photoanode through judicious engineering of charge carrier-selective contacts on thermally oxidized Cu 2 O sheets. The introduction of Ga 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , and indium tin oxide (ITO) layers as an electron-selective back contact, combined with Al 2 O 3 , Au, and Ni front layers, significantly enhanced charge separation and electron transfer. The champion Cu 2 O photoanode exhibited a photocurrent density of 8.65 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode in alkaline media, which is the highest reported for metal oxide photoanodes. These findings highlight the pivotal role of charge carrier-selective interface engineering in broadening the scope of available semiconductor materials for photo(electro)catalytic oxidation reactions, irrespective of the doping type of the light-absorbing material.