Co-Catalyst Ti3C2TX MXene-Modified ZnO Nanorods Photoanode for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

In order to obtain a high photoelectrochemical performance, co-catalysts loading is the most commonly used way, which can facilitate reactions and suppress the charge recombination. In this paper, a novel composite of ZnO/Ti 3 C 2 T X photoanode was fabricated by a facile spin coating of precipitating Ti 3 C 2 T X (MXene) flakes onto the surface of ZnO, as co-catalyst for enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Under simulated sunlight, the optimum composite of ZnO/Ti 3 C 2 T X photoanode showed the photocurrent density as 1.2 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V RHE , which is 1.4 times higher than that of pristine ZnO without Ti 3 C 2 T X co-catalyst (0.83 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V RHE ). The ZnO/Ti 3 C 2 T X photoanode showed a photoconversion efficiency of 0.32% and maintained a stable photocurrent over 2000s. The Ti 3 C 2 T X (MXene) flakes as co-catalyst to promote the charge transfer and accelerates the reaction kinetics in ZnO/Ti 3 C 2 T X photoanode. This work delivers a two-dimensional (2D) material Ti 3 C 2 T X (MXene) as co-catalyst for enhanced ZnO photoanode PEC water splitting.