| Summary: | Nanostructured photoanodes are attractive materials for hydrogen production via water photo-electrolysis process. This study focused on the incorporation of carbon quantum dots doped with nitrogen as a photosensitizer into <i>meso</i>porous tungsten trioxide photoanodes (N-CQD/<i>meso</i>-WO<sub>3</sub>) using a surfactant self-assembly template approach. The crystal structure, composition, and morphology of pure and N-CQD- modified <i>meso</i>porous WO<sub>3</sub> photoanodes were investigated using scanning electron and transmission microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Due to their high surface area, enhanced optical absorption, and charge-carrier separation and transfer, the resulting N-CQD/<i>meso</i>-WO<sub>3</sub> photoanodes exhibited a significantly enhanced photocurrent density of 1.45 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> at 1.23 V vs. RHE under AM 1.5 G illumination in 0.5 M Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> without any co-catalysts or sacrificial reagent, which was about 2.23 times greater than its corresponding pure <i>meso</i>-WO<sub>3</sub>. Moreover, the oxygen evolution onset potential of the N-CQD/<i>meso</i>-WO<sub>3</sub> photoanodes exhibited a negative shift of 95 mV, signifying that both the charge-carrier separation and transfer processes were promoted.
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