Bi2Se3/ZnSe heterojunction on flexible Mo metal foil for photo electrolysis water splitting application

Abstract The green hydrogen generation by photoelectrochemical (PEC) process emerged as a viable approach to replace non-renewable energy sources, which is done by using semiconducting materials. Recently ZnSe-based heterostructure/junction promise a suitable approach to enhance the PEC performance of photoelectrode. Here we have grown Bi2Se3/ZnSe heterojunction on flexible Mo metal foil by using magnetron sputtering technique toward PEC water splitting application. The crystallinity, structural, and surface morphology of the deposited films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The PEC measurements were performed under 100 mW/cm2 (AM = 1.5 G) simulated solar radiation in 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte solution. The PEC measurements show that Bi2Se3/ZnSe photoelectrode performs better as a photocatalyst, with a photocurrent density of ∼96.4 μA/cm2 (at 0.4 V vs Ag/AgCl), which was found to be three times higher than pristine ZnSe film (∼32.4 μA/cm2). This work suggests the importance of heterojunction towards efficient photoelectrodes for green hydrogen generation.