Photoelectrochemical water oxidation of LaTaON2 under visible-light irradiation

Lanthanum tantalum oxynitride (LaTaON2) powders were prepared by one-step flux method. LaTaON2 photoanodes, which are fabricated by using LaTaON2 powders, are found to exhibit photoelectrochemical activity for overall water splitting. The photocurrent for LaTaON2 photoelectrodes was ca. 120 μA cm−2 at 1.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in 1 M NaOH aqueous solutions (pH = 13.6) under AM 1.5 G simulated sunlight irradiation (100 mW cm−2). The photocurrent of LaTaON2 photoelectrode from back-side illumination is much larger than that from front-side illumination, suggesting that the photoelectrochemical property is mainly limited by poor continuous electron transport in the bulk. Further efforts to ameliorate the electron transport in the bulk of LaTaON2 photoelectrodes are expected to significantly improve their photoelectrochemical performance.