Photoelectrochemistry of electrodeposited Cu2O

The photoelectrochemical properties of electrodeposited Cu2O in aqueous sol utions were investigated. The material showed long term stability under ill umination at negative potentials. The diffusion Length of electrons in the as-deposited material was of the order of 10-100 nm. We did not observe pho tocathodic reduction of water. The efficiencies for the reduction of oxygen and the methylviologen cation at these electrodes were surprisingly high. This suggests that, in conjunction with a suitable redox system. electrodep osited Cu2O could be a promising material as a p-type photoelectrode in an electrochemical photovoltaic cell. (C) 2000 The Electrochemical Society. S0 013-4651(99)06-014-0. All rights reserved.