Black/red phosphorus Z-scheme hybrid with novel photosynthesis-inspired electrolyte additives for enhanced photoelectrochemical activity

Abstract Designing a Z-scheme heterojunction is of great significance to achieve high separation of photogenerated carriers and strong photo-redox properties of two semiconductor materials. In photosynthesis, the effects of photocatalytic electrolytes (adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)) on chemical energy has attracted numerous interests. In this case, developing photocatalytic electrolytes with more active site and efficient charge extraction and separation would be beneficial for superior photocatalytic activity in Z-scheme system. Herein, we synthesized a Black/Red (BP/RP) phosphorus Z-scheme hybrid via a feasible two-steps sonochemical method, and the adding photocatalytic electrolytes ATP and NADPH in KOH solution endow the system with new vitality in photocatalysis. Consequently, photoelectrochemical (PEC) tests demonstrated the as-prepared BP/RP Z-scheme hybrid exhibits enhanced photocurrent of 9 μA/cm2 at 0.5 V compared to the sole RP, while adding NADPH and ATP, the photocurrent of BP/RP Z-scheme hybrid shows dramatic increment of 30 μA cm−2 at a bias potential of 0.6 V. The improved photocatalytic activity is ascribed to the abundant active sites, higher carrier mobility of the BP/RP Z-scheme system, as well as the efficient photogenerated carrier separation and the prolonged lifetime of photocatalytic electrolytes. This work demonstrated the photocatalytic electrolytes can meet the unity of coordination and efficiency of achieving efficient PEC catalytic in the Z-Scheme system, and provides positive ideas for the possibility and superiority for other 2D materials in the field of ultrafast Photonics, photodetectors, etc.