To further explore photogenerated hole transfer in p-type Cu2O photoanodes, we investigated the effect of the front layers, which play a critical role in the band bending at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface for facile hole transfer. The water oxidation efficiency of the photoanodes was compared with three different configurations: Cu2O (without any overlayers), Cu2O/NiFe, and Cu2O/Au/NiFe with the previously optimized ITO/TiO2/Ga2O3 back contact layers. In LSV measurements, all electrodes showed PEC activity for water oxidation, and the photoanode with Cu2O/Au/NiFe front layers achieved the most improved onset potential of 0.86 V vs. RHE and a photocurrent density of 7.15 mA cm -2 (Fig. and Supplementary Fig. ). This result suggests that Au, which has a higher work function than Ni, provides more favorable upward band bending at the Cu2O/Au interface, thereby enhancing the charge transfer selectivity at this interface .