Photocurrent Enhancement by a Rapid Thermal Treatment of Nanodisk-Shaped SnS Photocathodes

Photocathodes made from the earth-abundant, ecofriendly mineral tin monosulfide (SnS) can be promising candidates for p/n-type photoelectrochemical cells because they meet the strict requirements of energy band edges for each individual photoelectrode. Herein we fabricated SnS-based cell that exhibited a prolonged photocurrent for 3 h at −0.3 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in a 0.1 M HCl electrolyte. An enhancement of the cathodic photocurrent from 2 to 6 mA cm–2 is observed through a rapid thermal treatment. Mott–Schottky analysis of SnS samples revealed an anodic shift of 0.7 V in the flat band potential under light illumination. Incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) analysis indicates that an efficient charge transfer appropriate for solar hydrogen generation occurs at the −0.3 V vs RHE potential. This work shows that SnS is a promising material for photocathode in PEC cells and its performance can be enhanced via simple postannealing.