Citation: Li Tian, Xiangjiu Guan, Jingkuo Qu, Anna Dai, Jiaye Cai, Zheng Zhang, Shichao Zong, Liejin Guo. Boosting photocatalytic overall water splitting efficiency and stability with adjacent cobalt-based dual cocatalysts[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(4): 111581. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111581 shu

Boosting photocatalytic overall water splitting efficiency and stability with adjacent cobalt-based dual cocatalysts

Li Tian ^a ,
Xiangjiu Guan ^{a, *,} ,
Jingkuo Qu ^a ,
Anna Dai ^a ,
Jiaye Cai ^a ,
Zheng Zhang ^a ,
Shichao Zong ^b ,
Liejin Guo ^{a, *,}

a.
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, International Research Center for Renewable Energy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
b.
Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, School of Water and Environment, Chang'an University, Xi'an 710054, China

xj-guan@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

lj-guo@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

Received Date: 6 March 2025
Revised Date: 4 July 2025
Accepted Date: 10 July 2025
Available Online: 11 July 2025

Figures(6)

Cocatalysts are pivotal in realizing photocatalytic overall water splitting (POWS) by mitigating carrier recombination and expediting reaction kinetics. Nevertheless, conventional cocatalysts still faces with challenges in balancing high efficiency and low cost. Herein, adjacent CoP and CoOOH, as noble-metal-free dual cocatalysts for hydrogen/oxygen evolution, are introduced onto the surface of Al-doped SrTiO₃ (Al: STO), achieving stable and efficient POWS, with a hydrogen and oxygen evolution rate of 4.86 and 2.30 mmol h^-1 g^-1, respectively, and an apparent quantum yield of 12.7% at 350 ± 10 nm. The superior performance is attributed to the unique adjacent structure of CoP and CoOOH dual cocatalysts. Functioning as critical reactive sites for hydrogen and oxygen evolution, respectively, co-modification of CoP and CoOOH effectively promotes the surface redox reaction. Notably, due to the Schottky junction form between CoP and CoOOH, the uniformly distributed and tightly attached adjacent CoP-CoOOH dual cocatalysts shortened the distance of both charge-carrier migration from bulk to the surface of photocatalyst and proton transfer from oxidation sites to reduction sites, thereby enhancing the charge-separation efficiency and protecting CoP against oxidation during photocatalytic overall water splitting process. This work offers innovative insights for designing efficient, noble-metal-free cocatalysts for POWS.
- Noble-metal-free cocatalyst,
- Photocatalysis,
- Overall water splitting,
- SrTiO₃,
- CoP-CoOOH
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