Issue 9, 2023

Interfacial anion vacancy engineered graphitic carbon nitride photoelectrode for promoting charge separation

Abstract

Anion vacancies at the interface play a vital role in the augmented performance of oxide semiconductors in photocatalysis. The existence of anion vacancies not only improves conductivity but also affects light absorption and suppresses recombination, resulting in enhanced performance. This work reports the role of selenium vacancies at the interface between ZnSe and g-C3N4. After the addition of g-C3N4, selenium vacancies were induced at the interface between ZnSe and g-C3N4. The vacancies generated from the addition of g-C3N4 promote photogenerated charge carrier separation for improved photoelectrochemical performance. To corroborate this point, ZnSe and g-C3N4, via facile anion exchange, spin-coating and annealing, sequentially, were prepared on hydrothermally prepared ZnO as a ternary junction photoanode. Experimental measurements depicted the presence of Se vacancies in ZnO@ZnSe@g-C3N4 annealed at 350 °C under N2, whereas the annealing conditions at 300 °C in air result in the formation of SeO2 at the interface due to partial oxidation of ZnSe. The Se vacancies significantly enhance the transport of charge carriers and thus prominently improve the photocurrent performance, whereas the existence of the SeO2 phase hampered the performance. The current study sheds light on how interfacial anion vacancies affect various aspects of important factors behind the photoelectrochemical performance, which provides meaningful scientific insights into the development of more efficient photoanodes in the future.

Graphical abstract: Interfacial anion vacancy engineered graphitic carbon nitride photoelectrode for promoting charge separation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 Dec 2022
Accepted
20 Mar 2023
First published
20 Mar 2023

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023,13, 2696-2704

Interfacial anion vacancy engineered graphitic carbon nitride photoelectrode for promoting charge separation

P. V. R. K. Ramacharyulu and C. W. Kim, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2023, 13, 2696 DOI: 10.1039/D2CY02089K

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