Enhanced photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution reaction based on surface autocatalytic effect of ultrathin 3C-SiC nanocrystals

3C-SiC nanocrystals (NCs) can be used as high-performance electrochemical cathodes for hydrogen production. However, it is difficult to obtain effective oxygen evolution from the materials as photoelectrochemical anodes due to high radiative recombination. Here, we make use of the surface autocatalytic effect (SAE) to design a composite photoelectrochemical anode which consists of ultrathin 3C-SiC NCs and ZnO nanowires deposited on both sides of a brass substrate. The ZnO nanowires serve as the hole providers. The photogenerated holes are derived under applied external bias to the 3C-SiC NCs. Aided by the SAE, enhanced oxygen production is achieved on the 3C-SiC NCs. © 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.