LAUSR

Abstract Photoelectrochemical (PEC) seawater splitting is an important strategy of green industrial hydrogen production on the basis of protecting fresh water resources. In this work, a floc-like BixFe1-xVO4@CNT hetero-nanostructure (HNS) was fabricated as the building blocks of PEC anode and demonstrated a highly enhanced PEC efficiency and stability in seawater. In BixFe1-xVO4@CNT HNS, amorphous Fe mixed BixFe1-xVO4 nanoparticles (NPs) were served for visible-light absorption, photoelectric conversion, and especially conjunct nodes of carbon nanotubes (CNTs); while CNTs were employed as the high-speed channels for carrier transfer, suppressing electron-hole recombination and leading to a highly improved PEC efficiency. As a result, the as-fabricated floc-like photoanode achieves an applicable PEC photocurrent density of 0.1 mA/cm2 at 1.5 V versus Ag/AgCl in seawater, which demonstrates the promising potential of the floc-like BixFe1-xVO4@CNT HNS in future photoconversion applications.