Flower-like shapes M-PbS (M = Li, na, or Cs)/porous CuO photocatalytic electrode for converting sewage water into H2 fuel gas

This work studies the preparation of M-PbS (M = Li, Na, or Cs) on porous CuO (P-CuO) as a photoelectrode for H2 gas production under sewage water splitting. The preparation of P-CuO was carried out in our previous study (Abdelazeez et al in Appl Phys 128:1–10, 2022). The preparation of M-PbS is performed using the hydrothermal method, and then it is cast on P-CuO and dried at 70 °C for 30 min. The chemical structure of M-PbS materials was confirmed through XRD and XPS analyses. Moreover, the morphologies were confirmed using SEM and TEM analyses. These analyses confirmed the formation of quantum dot particles that sometimes agglomerate to form nanoparticles that look like flower shapes. The calculated bandgap values are 1.03, 1.05, 1.06, and 1.07 eV for Cs-PbS, Na-PbS, PbS, and Li-PbS, respectively. The application for the H2 generation test is carried out using three-electrode cells with …