New CuFe2O4/amorphous manganese oxide nanocomposites used as photocatalysts in photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract The utilization of visible light for the photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen gas from water is a scientific challenge. Water splitting for the production of hydrogen using copper-ferrite and amorphous manganese oxide composite can be efficient way. This is the first report which focuses on the electrophoretic deposition of solvothermally synthesized CuFe 2 O 4 /amorphous manganese oxide nanocomposites directly for photoelectrochemical water splitting under visible light. This study may provide a simple, cost-effective and environmentally benign method to promising photocatalyst and application for hydrogen evolution. Photoelectrochemical characterizations have showed that the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance increases when the mole ratio of amorphous manganese oxide increases. The photoelectrochemical measurements are conducted under visible light irradiation in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte. The best result of the photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution activity (502.8 μmol in 90 min) is obtained when the mole ratio of the CuFe 2 O 4 /amorphous manganese oxide (1:4) is. It is observed that the as-obtained CuFe 2 O 4 /amorphous manganese oxide nanocomposites are quite efficient photocatalyst for photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation.