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2019 Vol.29, Issue 3 Preview Page
Fabrication and Photoelectrochemical Properties of an Oxide Photoanode with Zinc Oxide Nanorod Array Embedded in Cuprous Oxide Thin Film

산화아연 나노막대가 내장된 아산화구리 박막 구조를 이용한 산화물 광양극 제작 및 광전기화학적 특성

Byeongguk Min1
,
Hyojin Kim2†
민 병국1
,
김 효진2†
1Graduate School of Advanced Circuit Substrate Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, Deajeon 34134, Republic of Korea
1충남대학교 차세대기판학과
2충남대학교 공과대학 신소재공학과
†Corresponding author E-Mail : hyojkim@cnu.ac.kr (H. Kim, Chungnam Nat’l Univ.)
March 2019. pp. 196-203
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Abstract

We report on the fabrication and characterization of an oxide photoanode with a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod array embedded in cuprous oxide (Cu2O) thin film, namely a ZnO/Cu2O oxide p-n heterostructure photoanode, for enhanced efficiency of visible light driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. A vertically oriented n-type ZnO nanorod array is first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method and then a p-type Cu2O thin film is directly electrodeposited onto the vertically oriented ZnO nanorod array to form an oxide p-n heterostructure. The introduction of Cu2O layer produces a noticeable enhancement in the visible light absorption. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior under visible light illumination, the photoconversion efficiency of this ZnO/Cu2O p-n heterostructure photoanode is found to reach 0.39 %, which is seven times that of a pristine ZnO nanorod photoanode. In particular, a significant PEC performance is observed even at an applied bias of 0 V vs Hg/Hg2Cl2, which makes the device self-powered. The observed improvement in the PEC performance is attributed to some synergistic effect of the pn bilayer heterostructure on the formation of a built-in potential including the light absorption and separation processes of photoinduced charge carriers, which provides a new avenue for preparing efficient photoanodes for PEC water splitting.

Keywords
oxide heterostructure
zinc oxide
cuprous oxide
photoanode
photoelectrochemical water splitting
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Information
  • Publisher :Materials Research Society of Korea
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국재료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Materials Research
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국재료학회지
  • Volume : 29
  • No :3
  • Pages :196-203
  • Received Date : 2019-01-08
  • Revised Date : 2019-02-21
  • Accepted Date : 2019-02-27
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.3740/MRSK.2019.29.3.196
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