As far as surface area is concerned, the more the area, better will be the efficiency. In other words, one should use large electrodes at shorter distances. Then why does most reach include working with only 1cm2 area electrodes?
I think that the answer above is half-right... it is true that the effciency should take into account the electrode area and thus should not change with how big or how small the electrode is.
However, the details about typical electrodes above refer to common commercial electrodes, not to "photoelectrodes" or electrodes used in photoelectrochemical experiments, which is what the question refers to. In that case it is quite usual to use as Iqra said 1cm2 electrodes, usually 1 cm x 1 cm square electrodes.
Although you may use other sizes, you must be careful with the homogeneous illumination of your electrode, there is no point in having a massive electrode area if you are not able to fully illuminate it, this would actually decrease your efficiency if you take into account the area!
I think that square electrodes tend to be used in photoelectrochemistry due to the nature of fabrication of the electrodes and a 1 cm2 square is usually easy to make and to work with. There may be additional reasons for this, and people with further practical experience in photoelectrolysis of water might have more insight.
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