Fabrication of TiO2–BiOCl double-layer nanostructure arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract

A novel TiO₂–BiOCl double-layer nanostructure array (rutile nanowires@anatase/BiOCl nanosheets) was successfully designed and prepared. The obtained samples were systematically characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction, the UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectroscopy, photocurrent versus potential (I–V) curves, and the incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) curves. According to the photoelectrochemical data, the introduction of the BiOCl nanosheet on the TiO₂ nanowire film could markedly enhance the photocurrent and IPCE value, due to the formation of TiO₂/BiOCl heterostructures on the FTO substrate. Furthermore, the sample exhibits the best photoelectrochemical performance when the depositing cycle of BiOCl is 60 times.