Enhanced Interfacial Charge Transfer on a Tungsten Trioxide Photoanode with Immobilized Molecular Iridium Catalyst

Graphical A modified photoanode : An iridium complex is immobilized on a WO 3 electrode to construct a composite photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The photoanode shows a significant improvement both in photocurrent and faradaic efficiency. Kinetic studies reveal that the molecular iridium catalyst exhibits a different interfacial charge-transfer mechanism on the WO 3 photoanode for PEC water oxidation compared to iridium oxide. The rational design of active photoanodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is crucial for future applications in sustainable energy conversion. A combination of catalysts with photoelectrodes is generally required to improve surface kinetics and suppress surface recombination. In this study, we present WO 3 photoanode modified with the iridium complex [(H 4 dphbpy)Ir III (Cp*)Cl]Cl (Ir-PO 3 H 2 ; H 4 dphbpy=2,2′-bipyridine-4,4′-bisphosphonic acid, Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadiene (WO 3 +Ir-PO 3 H 2 )- for PEC water oxidation. When Ir-PO 3 H 2 is anchored to a WO 3 electrode, the photoanode shows a significant improvement in both photocurrent and faradaic efficiency compared to the bare WO 3 photoanode. Under simulated sunlight illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm −2 ) with an applied bias of 1.23 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode), the photoanode exhibits a photocurrent of 1.16 mA cm −2 in acidic conditions, which is double that of the bare WO 3 photoanode. The faradaic efficiency is promoted from 56 % to 95 %. Kinetic studies reveal that Ir-PO 3 H 2 exhibits a different interfacial charge-transfer mechanism on the WO 3 photoanode for PEC water oxidation compared to iridium oxide. Ir-PO 3 H 2 , as a water-oxidation catalyst, can accelerate the surface charge transfer through rapid surface kinetics.