Electrochemical Growth of Copper Hydroxy Double Salt Films and Their Conversion to Nanostructured p-Type CuO Photocathodes.

New electrochemical synthesis methods were developed to produce copper hydroxy double salt(Cu-HDS) films with four different intercalated anions (NO, SO, Cl, and dodecyl sulfate (DS)) as pure crystalline films as deposited (CuNO(OH), CuSO(OH), CuCl(OH), and CuDS(OH)). These methods are based on p-benzoquinone reduction, which increases the local pH at the working electrode and triggers the precipitation of Cu and appropriate anions as Cu-HDS films on the working electrode. The resulting Cu-HDS films could be converted to crystalline Cu(OH) and CuO films by immersing them in basic solutions.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Photoelectrodes and Catalysts for Use in Solar Water Splitting.

This review focuses on introducing and explaining electrodepostion mechanisms and electrodeposition-based synthesis strategies used for the production of catalysts and semiconductor electrodes for use in water-splitting photoelectrochemical cells (PECs). It is composed of three main sections: electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen evolution catalysts, oxygen evolution catalysts, and semiconductor electrodes. The semiconductor section is divided into two parts: photoanodes and photocathodes.

Chemically directed assembly of photoactive metal oxide nanoparticle heterojunctions via the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition "click" reaction.

Metal oxides play a key role in many emerging applications in renewable energy, such as dye-sensitized solar cells and photocatalysts. Because the separation of charge can often be facilitated at junctions between different materials, there is great interest in the formation of heterojunctions between metal oxides. Here, we demonstrate use of the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction, widely referred to as "click" chemistry, to chemically assemble photoactive heterojunctions between metal oxide nanoparticles, using WO(3) and TiO(2) as a model system.