Back Cover Image, Volume 5, Number 9, September 2023

Back cover image: Introducing photothermal effect into transition metal oxide photoanode has been proved to be an effective method to improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance. However, the precise role of photothermal effect on the PEC performance of photoanodes is still not well understood, and in article no. CEY2369, Xueqin Liu et al. clarify that the main reason for the enhanced PEC performance via photothermal effect is the promoted transfer of electron small polaron which is bound to the positively charged oxygen vacancies. Under the synergistic effect oxygen vacancies and photothermal effect, the electron conductivity and PEC performance are significantly improved, which provide fundamental insights into the impact of photothermal effect upon PEC performance of small-polaron-type semiconductor photoanodes.