Nanostructured Cd2SnO4 as an energy harvesting photoanode for solar water splittingElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2ee03042j

We report the synthesis of pure phase (cubic as well as orthorhombic phase) nanoparticles of Cd 2 SnO 4 (1015 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 Cd 2 SnO 4 films, when used as photoanodes for solar water splitting, show a maximum photocurrent of 80 A cm 2 at 0.5 V for the orthorhombic phase and 250 A cm 2 at 0.6 V for the cubic phase with respect to an Ag/AgCl reference electrode indicating the good promise of Cd 2 SnO 4 for energy harvesting. Nanostructured Cd 2 SnO 4 , which shows favorable band alignment with redox potentials of water, is explored as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting.