In-situ fabricating CoOOH@Zn_xCo_1-xS heterostructure via electrochemical oxidation for overall water splitting

Recently, visible light-driven overall water splitting without any sacrificial reagents has served as a promising technology for utilizing solar energy. Herein, CoOOH@Zn xCo S1-x heterostructure was successfully prepared by in-situ creating CoOOH on the surface of Zn xCo S1-x nanospheres via an electrochemical oxidation route. Such CoOOH@Zn xCo S1-x heterostructure shows an enhanced capacity for overall water splitting under visible light without any sacrificial reagents. Besides, based on the results of linear sweep photovoltammetry (LSV) and open-circuit photovoltage decay (OCVD), the unique cascade charge transport channel between the in-situ creating CoOOH and Zn xCo S1-x will significantly enhance the transfer behaviors and prolongs the lifetime of photo-generated charge. It is hoped that this work could provide new insight into reasonably designing efficient photocatalytic materials for converting solar energy to chemical energy.