Controllable Cu₂O-Cu nanoparticle electrodeposition onto carbon paper and its superior photoelectrochemical performance

Cu₂O-Cu was successfully electrodeposited onto a carbon paper substrate through a potentiostatic procedure with a three-electrode configuration. The results demonstrate that the Cu₂O-Cu, electrodeposited at a potential of -0.4 V, evenly and uniformly grows on the carbon paper and displays octahedron shaped nanoparticles with an average edge length of 100 nm. Moreover, the photocurrent density of Cu₂O-Cu electrodeposited at a potential of -0.4 V can reach up to 1.2 mA cm ^-2. In this Cu₂O-Cu, the interface between the Cu ₂O and Cu is suggested as the location of photoinduced electron-hole pair separation, and thus it hinders the rapid surface and bulk recombination of the photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Consequently, the photogenerated electrons can be easily transferred through the Cu metal. This journal is