Overcoming the inherent transportation of charge constraint of the photoanode has been critical for seeking feasible photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Here, we propose to utilize electron metal-support interactions (EMSI) between Cu nanoparticles (NPs) and N-C support for modifying the electronic structure of Cu-N-C/SnS photoanode and analyze the impact of EMSI on the process of PEC water splitting. The combination of detailed theoretical simulation calculations and comprehensive characterizations indicates that the charge imbalance induced by EMSI within the Cu-N-C and SnS interfaces results in an enhanced interfacial polarized electric field and boosts the separation of photo-induced carriers at the Cu-N-C and SnS interfaces. The optimal Cu-N-C/SnS photoanode displays remarkable properties with a considerably upgraded photocurrent of 2.33 mA cm at 1.23 V, which is 6.30 beyond the value of SnS (0.37 mA cm). This work paves a way to developing high-performance photoanodes for efficient PEC water splitting.

中文翻译：

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电子金属载体相互作用诱导的空间电荷极化促进光电化学水分解

克服光电阳极固有的电荷传输限制对于寻求可行的光电化学（PEC）水分解至关重要。在这里，我们建议利用铜纳米颗粒（NP）和NC载体之间的电子金属载体相互作用（EMSI）来改变Cu-NC/SnS光电阳极的电子结构，并分析EMSI对PEC水分解过程的影响。详细的理论模拟计算和综合表征相结合表明，Cu-NC 和 SnS 界面内 EMSI 引起的电荷不平衡导致界面极化电场增强，并促进 Cu-NC 和 SnS 处光生载流子的分离接口。最佳的 Cu-NC/SnS 光阳极表现出卓越的性能，在 1.23 V 下光电流显着提升为 2.33 mA cm，比 SnS 的值 (0.37 mA cm) 高出 6.30 倍。这项工作为开发用于高效 PEC 水分解的高性能光电阳极铺平了道路。