期刊
ACS NANO
卷 7, 期 12, 页码 11112-11120出版社
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/nn404838n
关键词
photoelectrochemical cell; solar water splitting; CuO; ZnO; branched nanowires (b-NWs)
类别
资金
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [ECCS0901113, CBET1236155]
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences [DE-SC0000957]
- Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion, an Energy Frontier Research Center
- Div Of Chem, Bioeng, Env, & Transp Sys
- Directorate For Engineering [1236155] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
We report a facile and large-scale fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) ZnO/CuO heterojunction branched nanowires (b-NWs) and their application as photocathodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar hydrogen production in a neutral medium. Using simple, cost-effective thermal oxidation and hydrothermal growth methods, ZnO/CuO b-NWs are grown on copper film or mesh substrates with various ZnO and CuO NWs sizes and densities. The ZnO/CuO b-NWs are characterized in detail using high-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopies exhibiting single-crystalline defect-free b-NWs with smooth and clean surfaces. The correlation between electrode currents and different NWs sizes and densities are studied in which b-NWs with longer and denser CuO NW cores show higher photocathodic current due to enhanced reaction surface area. The ZnO/CuO b-NW photoelectrodes exhibit broadband photoresponse from UV to near IR region, and higher photocathodic current than the ZnO-coated CuO (core/shell) NWs due to improved surface area and enhanced gas evolution. Significant improvement in the photocathodic current is observed when ZnO/CuO b-NWs are grown on copper mesh compared to copper film. The achieved results offer very useful guidelines in designing b-NWs mesh photoelectrodes for high-efficiency, low-cost, and flexible PEC cells using cheap, earth-abundant materials for clean solar hydrogen generation at large scales.
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