Directing the photogenerated charge flow in a photocathodic metal protection system with single-domain ferroelectric PbTiO3 nanoplates

Photocathodic protection (PCP) is arguably an ideal alternative technology to the conventional electrochemical cathodic protection methods for corrosion mitigation of metallic infrastructure due to its eco-friendliness and low-energy-consumption, but the construction of highly-efficient PCP systems still remains challenging, caused primarily by the lack of driving force to guide the charge flow through the whole PCP photoanodes. Here, we tackle this key issue by equipping the PCP photoanode with ferroelectric single-domain PbTiO₃ nanoplates, which can form a directional “macroscopic electric field” throughout the entire photoanode controllable by external polarization. The properly poled PCP photoanode allows the photogenerated electrons and holes to migrate in opposite directions, that is, electrons to the protected metal and holes to the photoanode/electrolyte interface, leading to largely suppressed charge annihilation and consequently a considerable boost in the overall solar energy conversion efficiency of the PCP system. The as-fabricated photoanode can not only supply sufficient photocurrent to 304 stainless steel to initiate cathodic protection, but also shift the metal potential to the corrosion-free range. Our findings provide a viable design strategy for future high-performance PCP systems based on ferroelectric nanomaterials with enhanced charge flow manipulation.