Issue 35, 2018

A ZnO/ZnFe2O4 uniform core–shell heterojunction with a tubular structure modified by NiOOH for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract

It is known that heterojunction photoelectrodes can improve light absorption and accelerate the separation of photogenerated carriers in the field of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the key to efficient photoelectrochemical performance is to build heterojunctions with a narrow band gap semiconductor loaded on a wide band gap semiconductor uniformly and densely. Herein, a ZnO/ZnFe2O4 uniform core–shell heterojunction photoelectrode is prepared by a simple ion etching method. Moreover, the chemical reaction process and mechanism are discussed in detail. The ZnO/ZnFe2O4 photoelectrode shows a higher photocurrent density (0.29 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE) compared with that of ZnO (0.17 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE). Furthermore, the PEC performance of ZnO/ZnFe2O4 is optimized by depositing NiOOH; the photocurrent density of ZnO/ZnFe2O4/NiOOH is 0.48 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE. The remarkable PEC performance of ZnO/ZnFe2O4/NiOOH benefits from the following important factors: (i) the uniformity and nanotube structure of the ZnO/ZnFe2O4 heterojunction; (ii) the excellent light harvesting ability; and (iii) the reduced photogenerated electron–hole pair recombination rate. This work provides new insights into designing heterojunction systems for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Graphical abstract: A ZnO/ZnFe2O4 uniform core–shell heterojunction with a tubular structure modified by NiOOH for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Jun 2018
Accepted
01 Aug 2018
First published
01 Aug 2018

Dalton Trans., 2018,47, 12181-12187

A ZnO/ZnFe2O4 uniform core–shell heterojunction with a tubular structure modified by NiOOH for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

Y. Lan, Z. Liu, Z. Guo, X. Li, L. Zhao, L. Zhan and M. Zhang, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 12181 DOI: 10.1039/C8DT02581A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements