Design of novel metal chalcogenide photoanodes supported with reduced graphene oxide for improvement of photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution

Designing new photoanodes with high efficiency provides an effective route to develop photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. In this work, quaternary metal chalcogenides (CdZnMSSe (M: Ni, Cu, Mo)) and reduced graphene oxide- quaternary metal chalcogenide (RGO-CdZnMSSe) composite films are fabricated by simple one-step electrodeposition process. The photoanodes formed of quaternary metal chalcogenides and the incorporation of RGO in these composite films increase charge transfer capability and separation ability compared to cadmium-based photoanodes, leading to enhancement of the photoelectrochemical hydrogen production activity. A superior photocurrent response is recorded for RGO(0.25)-Cd0.8Zn0.2Ni0.2S0.2Se0.8 (5.34 mA cm−2 at 0.8 V vs RHE). In addition, the maximum ABPE value of RGO(0.25)-Cd0.8Zn0.2Ni0.2S0.2Se0.8 is determined as 1.95%. The achieved results offer a new insight into highly efficient next generation-photoanodes to convert solar energy to hydrogen.