Nanostructured Cd2SnO4 as an energy harvesting photoanode for solar water splitting

We report the synthesis of pure phase (cubic as well as orthorhombic phase) nanoparticles of Cd2SnO4 (10–15 nm) by a one step solution combustion method and demonstrate their applicability for energy harvesting in photoelectrochemical devices. The criticality of the process parameters in obtaining pure phase nanocrystals is emphasized through the study of the structural, optical and electronic properties. Doctor bladed Cd2SnO4 films, when used as photoanodes for solar water splitting, show a maximum photocurrent of 80 μA cm−2 at 0.5 V for the orthorhombic phase and 250 μA cm−2 at 0.6 V for the cubic phase with respect to an Ag/AgCl reference electrode indicating the good promise of Cd2SnO4 for energy harvesting.