Operando and Time-Resolved X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting over Cu/CuO

To solve the global energy shortage and the pollution of the environment problem, transferring solar energy to chemical energy has attracted great attention. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has been regarded as a low-cost and environmentally friendly approach to solve these issues. Copper oxide (CuxO) attached our attention for the low cost, high abundance, and easy synthetic protocols. Also, it has suitable band gape, which can adsorb visible light. Thence, we plan to construct a CuxO based photo-electrode system for PEC water splitting process under visible light. Meanwhile, we will put Cu as underlayer to enhance the stability of CuxO under illumination. This inhouse experiment aims to composte CuxO and Cu/CuxO that can be used in the future pump and probe experiments to investigate the mechanisms of hydrogen evolution reaction processes.