Photoelectrochemical behavior of Cu2O single crystals in liquid electrolytes

Abstract Photoelectrochemical behavior of single crystalline Cu 2 O electrodes in aqueous solutions of KI and CH 3 OH has been studied using a simple cell with three electrodes. Most of the Cu 2 O electrodes showed a broad peak in their spectral response of the photocurrent in the visible region centered at around 595 nm (2.08 eV). However, the Cu 2 O electrodes were not stable in the liquid electrolytes. It can be concluded from the results that the chemical reaction of Cu 2 O with the electrolytes is depressed by O 2 gas as compared to N 2 gas bubbling in the system.