ZnO-nanoflower thin film photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting: Effect of pH and gallium doping

Abstract

Utilizing sunlight for energy conversion and storage through photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been regarded as one of the most featured ways in renewable energy applications. Herein, zinc oxide nanoflower (ZnONF) thin-film photoelectrodes have been prepared using different pH of the reaction solution. Additionally, gallium doping has been applied on the ZnONF thin-film having the highest performance to enhance the PEC efficiency. Consequently, ∼0.8 mA.cm−2 of photocurrent density generated on ZnONF photoanode has been enhanced to ∼1.3 mA.cm−2 (at 0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl), while maximum IPCE% reached to 51% at 367 nm via gallium doping.