Enhanced Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of BiOI Nanoplate–Zinc Oxide Nanorod p–n Heterojunction

The development of highly efficient and robust photocatalysts has attracted great attention for solving the global energy crisis and environmental problems. Herein, we describe the synthesis of a p–n heterostructured photocatalyst, consisting of ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) decorated with BiOI nanoplates (NPs), by a facile solvothermal method. The product thus obtained shows high photoelectrochemical water splitting performance and enhanced photoelectrocatalytic activity for pollutant degradation under visible light irradiation. The p‐type BiOI NPs, with a narrow band gap, not only act as a sensitizer to absorb visible light and promote electron transfer to the n‐type ZnO NRAs, but also increase the contact area with organic pollutants. Meanwhile, ZnO NRAs provide a fast electron‐transfer channel, thus resulting in efficient separation of photoinduced electron–hole pairs. Such a p–n heterojunction nanocomposite could serve as a novel and promising catalyst in energy and environmental applications.     

Heterointerface Engineering of ZnO/CdS Heterostructures through ZnS Layers for Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Solar-driven water splitting to produce clean and renewable hydrogen offers a green strategy to address the energy crisis and environmental pollution. Heterostructure catalysts are receiving increasing attention for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. ZnO/ZnS/CdS and ZnO/CdS heterostructures have been successfully designed and prepared according to two different strategies. By introducing a heterointerface layer of ZnS between ZnO and CdS, a Z scheme charge-transfer channel was promoted and achieved superior photocatalytic performance. A highest hydrogen generation rate of 156.7 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ was achieved by precise control of the thickness of the heterointerface layer and of the CdS shell. These findings demonstrated that heterostructures are promising catalysts for solar-driven water splitting, and that heterointerface engineering is an effective way to improve the photocatalytic properties of heterostructures.     

ZnS nanoparticle decorated ZnO nanowall network: investigation through electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry

We report on the fabrication of ZnO nanowall networks decorated with ZnS nanostructures on aluminum substrates using simple chemical route. The structural features and elemental constituents of the ZnS/ZnO heterostructure systems have been extensively studied using electron microscopy and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. The light emission characteristics of the bare and heterostructured systems have been analyzed using room temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy. The decoration of ZnS nanostructures over ZnO nanowalls has been evidenced through secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The ‘matrix effect’ has been found to be prominent during SIMS analysis of the bare and heterostructured nanowalls indicating the presence of ZnS phase over ZnO surface. ‘MCs⁺‐SIMS’ has been employed to suppress the matrix effect and is found to be potentially effective in making a semi‐quantitative estimation of Zn and O surface–atom concentrations in both systems. The luminescence responses of the ZnS/ZnO heterostructures have been found to be strongly dependent on the extent of ZnS phase over ZnO. The higher luminescence responses in ZnS/ZnO heterostructures fabricated with smaller ZnS nanoparticles have been explained in terms of a mechanism of charge‐carrier transfer from ZnS to ZnO. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical and gas sensing properties of ZnO nanorod arrays directly grown on a four-probe electrode system

A method for measuring the electrical characteristics of aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) directly grown on a pre-patterned four-point probe system in solution was proposed. This four-probe method enabled us to perform electrical measurements directly on the as-grown ZnO nanorod arrays without any additional processing. The location, shape and length of the rods directly grown on the four-probe electrodes were well controlled. The current–voltage characteristics showed a low turn-on voltage and a high saturation current. These ZnO NRAs devices were implemented as gas sensors for detecting hydrogen. The sensitivity increased with the concentration of H₂ and the operating temperature.     

Alloyed ZnS–CuInS2 Semiconductor Nanorods and Their Nanoscale Heterostructures for Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

A promising photocatalytic system in the form of heterostructured nanocrystals (HNCs) is presented wherein alloyed ZnS–CuInS₂ (ZCIS) semiconductor nanorods are decorated with Pt and Pd₄S nanoparticles. This is apparently the first report on the colloidal preparation and photocatalytic behavior of ZCIS–Pt and ZCIS–Pd₄S nanoscale heterostructures. Incorporation of Pt and Pd₄S cocatalysts leads to considerable enhancement of the photocatalytic activity of ZCIS for visible‐light‐driven hydrogen production.     

TiO2 Nanotube Arrays Modified with Cr‐Doped SrTiO3 Nanocubes for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution under Visible Light

In recent decades, solar‐driven hydrogen production over semiconductors has attracted tremendous interest owing to the global energy and environmental crisis. Among various semiconductor materials, TiO₂ exhibits outstanding photocatalytic properties and has been extensively applied in diverse photocatalytic and photoelectric systems. However, two major drawbacks limit practical applications, namely, high charge‐recombination rate and poor visible‐light utilization. In this work, heterostructured TiO₂ nanotube arrays grafted with Cr‐doped SrTiO₃ nanocubes were fabricated by simply controlling the kinetics of hydrothermal reactions. It was found that coupling TiO₂ nanotube arrays with regular SrTiO₃ nanocubes can significantly improve the charge separation. Meanwhile, doping Cr cations into SrTiO₃ nanocubes proved to be an effective and feasible approach to enhance remarkably the visible‐light response, which was also confirmed by theoretical calculations. As a result, the rate of photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution of these novel heteronanostructures is an order of magnitude larger than those of TiO₂ nanotube arrays and other previously reported SrTiO₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites under visible‐light irradiation. Furthermore, the as‐prepared Cr‐doped SrTiO₃/TiO₂ heterostructures exhibit excellent durability and stability, which are favorable for practical hydrogen production and photoelectric nanodevices.     

One-pot hydrothermal synthesis of heterostructured ZnO/ZnS nanorod arrays with high ethanol-sensing properties

ZnO/ZnS heterostructured nanorod arrays with uniform diameter and length were synthesized from zinc substrates in a one-pot procedure by using a simple hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by HRTEM indicated that the heterostructured nanorods were composed of parallel segments of wurtzite-type ZnO and zinc-blende ZnS, with a distinct interface along the axial direction, which revealed the epitaxial relationship, ZnO (1010) and ZnS (111). The as-prepared ZnO/ZnS nanorods showed only two green emissions at around 523?nm and 576?nm. We also found that the nanorods exhibited high sensitivity to ethanol at relatively low temperatures, owing to their smaller size and structure.     

Strain tuned efficient heterostructure photoelectrodes

van der Waals（vd Ws） heterostructures based on two-dimensional（2D） materials have become a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical（PEC） catalyst not only because of the freedom in materials design that enable the band-offset construction and facilitate the charge separation. They also provide a platform for the study of various of interface effect in PEC. Here, we report a new kind of mixed-dimensional vd Ws heterostructure photoelectrode and investigate the strain enhanced PEC performance ...     

One‐Pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of Heterostructured ZnO/ZnS Nanorod Arrays with High Ethanol‐Sensing Properties

ZnO/ZnS heterostructured nanorod arrays with uniform diameter and length were synthesized from zinc substrates in a one‐pot procedure by using a simple hydrothermal method. Structural characterization by HRTEM indicated that the heterostructured nanorods were composed of parallel segments of wurtzite‐type ZnO and zinc‐blende ZnS, with a distinct interface along the axial direction, which revealed the epitaxial relationship, ZnO (10$\bar 1$ 0) and ZnS ($\bar 1$ 1$\bar 1$ ). The as‐prepared ZnO/ZnS nanorods showed only two green emissions at around 523 nm and 576 nm. We also found that the nanorods exhibited high sensitivity to ethanol at relatively low temperatures, owing to their smaller size and structure.     

Efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over hydrogenated ZnO nanorod arrays

Hydrogenated ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) grown on F-doped SnO(2) (FTO) glass substrates yield a benchmark specific hydrogen production rate of 122,500 μmol h(-1) g(-1), and exhibit excellent stability and recyclability.     

Fabrication of NiC/MoC/NiMoO4 Heterostructured Nanorod Arrays as Stable Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Efficient Overall Water Splitting

Developing noble‐metal‐free, earth‐abundant, highly active, and stable electrocatalysts with high efficiency for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions is of great importance for the development of overall water‐splitting devices, but still remains a challenging issue. Herein, a 3D heterostructured NiC/MoC/NiMoO₄ electrocatalyst was prepared through a facile synthetic procedure. The electrocatalyst shows a superior catalytic activity and stability toward the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. The optimized NiC/MoC/NiMoO₄ catalyst presents low overpotentials of 68 and 280 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 in 1.0 m KOH for the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, respectively. Assembled as an electrolyzer for overall water splitting, such a heterostructure shows quite a low cell voltage of 1.52 V at 10 mA cm^?2 and remarkable stability for more than 20 h. This work provides a facile but efficient approach for the design and preparation of highly efficient bifunctional and self‐supported heterostructured electrocatalysts that can serve as promising candidates in electrochemical energy storage and conversion.     

花状ZnO/ZnS异质结构的简易合成、结构表征及光催化活性

采用简便的两步溶液相化学方法,在较低温度下(80℃),制备出了花状的ZnO/ZnS异质结构。分别利用X射线衍射、X射线光电子能谱仪、扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、紫外-可见光谱仪等测试手段对所制备的样品进行表征,结果表明ZnO/ZnS异质结构是由花状ZnO纳米结构和ZnS纳米粒子组成。在光降解罗丹明B(RhB)的测试中,ZnO/ZnS异质结构样品体现出了比ZnO前驱物和商业P25光催化剂更高的光催化效率,这主要可归因于异质结构更有利于电子-空穴的有效分离。ZnO/ZnS光催化剂体现出良好的循环稳定性。     

Preparation of dye-sensitized solar cells using template free TiO2 nanotube arrays for enhanced power conversion

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - By using the vertically aligned ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs), TiO2 nanoparticles attached ZnO nanorods (TiO2@ZnO) and TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTAs) were...     

Ultrathin ZnIn2S4 Nanosheets Anchored on Ti3C2TX MXene for Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Photocatalysts derived from semiconductor heterojunctions that harvest solar energy and catalyze reactions still suffer from low solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency. Now, MXene (Ti₃C₂T_X) nanosheets (MNs) are used to support the in situ growth of ultrathin ZnIn₂S₄ nanosheets (UZNs), producing sandwich‐like hierarchical heterostructures (UZNs‐MNs‐UZNs) for efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution. Opportune lateral epitaxy of UZNs on the surface of MNs improves specific surface area, pore diameter, and hydrophilicity of the resulting materials, all of which could be beneficial to the photocatalytic activity. Owing to the Schottky junction and ultrathin 2D structures of UZNs and MNs, the heterostructures could effectively suppress photoexcited electron–hole recombination and boost photoexcited charge transfer and separation. The heterostructure photocatalyst exhibits improved photocatalytic H₂ evolution performance (6.6 times higher than pristine ZnIn₂S₄) and excellent stability.     

Construction of 1D/1D WO_3 Nanorod/TiO_2 Nanobelt Hybrid Heterostructure for Photocatalytic Application

In this work, well-defined 1D/1D WO_3 nanorod/TiO_2 nanobelt(WNR/TNB) hybrid heterostructure was fabricated by a simple electrostatic self-assembly method. The structure-property correlation was clarified by characterizing the crystal phases, morphologies, optical properties, photoluminescence and photocatalytic performances of the WNR/TNB heterostructures. It was demonstrated that photocatalytic performances of WNR/TNB heterostructure toward mineralization was superior to blank TNB, WNR and randomly mixed counterparts under simulated solar light irradiation, owing predominantly to the intimate interfacial contact between WNR and TNB, forming intimately integrated heterojunction, which promotes the spatial charge carriers transfer and electron relay, hence prolonging the lifetime of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Moreover, photocatalytic mechanism was elucidated. It is anticipated that our work would provide an alternative strategy to construct diverse heterostructured photocatalysts for solar energy conversion.     

Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by two comparable [FeFe]‐hydrogenase mimics assembled to the surface of ZnS

Two photocatalytic hydrogen evolution systems were constructed by assembling [FeFe]‐hydrogenase mimics, either carboxyl group‐containing ( C1 ) or not ( C2 ), on to the surface of ZnS using triethanolamine as electron donor in DMF‐H₂O (9/1, v/v) solution. Upon irradiation for 30 h, the turnover numbers of hydrogen evolution were 3400 and 4950 for the hybrid system C1 /ZnS and C2 /ZnS, respectively. The photocatalytic activity of the C2 /ZnS system was five times higher than the activity of the pristine ZnS, suggesting that the [FeFe]‐hydrogenase mimics are crucial toward improving the activity of ZnS. On the basis of the spectroscopic studies and analyses, the photogenerated electron transfer from ZnS to the mimics is probably responsible for the activity enhancement of ZnS. The time dependence of hydrogen generation shows that the mimic C2 is more active than C1 . The different hydrogen evolution activity can be attributed to the different adsorption modes of the two [FeFe]‐hydrogenase mimics on the surface of ZnS. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

类石墨碳修饰提高ZnO纳米棒阵列光催化活性和光稳定性的研究

半导体光催化是一种理想的太阳能化学转化绿色技术,可以实现水分解制氢和CO2光还原制备碳氢化合物燃料.氧化锌 (ZnO) 作为一种直接带隙半导体材料,一方面具有性能优异、价格低廉、易制备等优点; 另一方面因光腐蚀而不稳定,大大限制了该材料的实际应用.本文提出了一种简单易行的类石墨碳修饰方法,可以有效提高 ZnO 用于CO2光还原的光催化活性和稳定性.首先采用水热法在金属锌片基底上生长 ZnO 纳米棒阵列 (ZnO-NRA),然后通过葡萄糖水热法进行不同含量的类石墨碳 (C-x) 修饰,形成 ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构,同步实现碳包覆和碳掺杂.X 射线衍射结果表明,ZnO 纳米棒及ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构都具有良好的纤锌矿型 (Wurtzite) 结构; 而拉曼散射则清楚地证实了类石墨碳的存在.扫描电子显微观察显示,生长的 ZnO 纳米棒长度大约 2-5 μm,直径为 400-700 nm,沿方向[0001]生长,端部由六个规则的 (103)晶面组成,进一步直观佐证了 ZnO 的典型纤锌矿型结构特征.透射电子显微分析结果表明,ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构中类石墨碳包覆层厚度大约为 8 nm.ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构的 X 射线光电子谱分析结果验证了 C-C,C-O 和 C=O键的存在与碳的包覆层相对应; 而 C-O-Zn键的出现则是由于碳在 ZnO 中掺杂所引起.从紫外-可见吸收谱上可观察到ZnO 的典型吸收带边位置约为 385 nm,而碳的包覆和掺杂导致 ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构的吸收带边发生红移,并且吸收背底明显提高.电化学阻抗谱测试结果清楚地显示,ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构比单纯 ZnO-NRA 的电化学阻抗明显降低,说明类石墨碳包覆层大幅度提高了电导性能,从而有利于光生载流子的分离和传输.荧光分析结果也表明,与单纯的 ZnO-NRA 相比,ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构的荧光强度大幅度下降,进一步证实了 ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构比单纯的 ZnO-NRA更有利于光生载流子的分离和传输.光电化学测试结果表明,ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构的瞬态光电流 4 倍于单纯的ZnO-NRA,而 CO2 光还原性能测试也得到一致的结果.长时间多循环 CO2 光还原实验证实,ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构具有稳定的光催化活性和极好的光稳定性.综上,我们利用一种简单易行的水热法进行类石墨碳修饰,成功开发了 ZnO-NRA/C-x 纳米复合结构,该结构因其优异的光生电子和空穴的分离和迁移性能,从而具有显著提升的CO2光还原活性和光稳定性.本工作证明,类石墨碳修饰是一种可以广泛借鉴的有效提升半导体材料光催化活性和光稳定性的可行方法.     

Earth‐Abundant Oxygen Evolution Catalysts Coupled onto ZnO Nanowire Arrays for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Cleavage

ZnO has long been considered as a model UV‐driven photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting, but its performance has been limited by fast charge‐carrier recombination, extremely poor stability in aqueous solution, and slow kinetics of water oxidation. These issues were addressed by applying a strategy of optimization and passivation of hydrothermally grown 1D ZnO nanowire arrays. The length and diameter of bare ZnO nanowires were optimized by varying the growth time and precursor concentration to achieve optimal photoelectrochemical performance. The addition of earth‐abundant cobalt phosphate (Co‐Pi) and nickel borate (Ni‐B) oxygen evolution catalysts onto ZnO nanowires resulted in substantial cathodic shifts in onset potential to as low as about 0.3 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for Ni‐B/ZnO, for which a maximum photocurrent density of 1.1 mA cm^?2 at 0.9 V (vs. RHE) with applied bias photon‐to‐current efficiency of 0.4 % and an unprecedented near‐unity incident photon‐to‐current efficiency at 370 nm. In addition the potential required for saturated photocurrent was dramatically reduced from 1.6 to 0.9 V versus RHE. Furthermore, the stability of these ZnO nanowires was significantly enhanced by using Ni‐B compared to Co‐Pi due to its superior chemical robustness, and it thus has additional functionality as a stable protecting layer on the ZnO surface. These remarkable enhancements in both photocatalytic activity and stability directly address the current severe limitations in the use of ZnO‐based photoelectrodes for water‐splitting applications, and can be applied to other photoanodes for efficient solar‐driven fuel synthesis.     

Self-assembly of 2D-electrolytes into heterostructured nanofibers

2D materials can be functionalised with various ionisable functional groups of different formal charges, forming the so-called 2D electrolytes. In this study, 2D electrolytes based on functionalised graphene oxide (GO) with cationic groups (-NH₃⁺) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) with anionic groups (-COO^-) were used to form heterostructures through a self-assembly process. Due to the presence of opposite charges, heterostructures were formed by the predominantly attractive forces between the 2D electrolytes in a fluidic aqueous environment. With the application of sonication, both 2D materials were able to overcome the energy barrier offered by their bending stiffness, continuously assembling and scrolling into heterostructured nanofibers. The nanofibers were the product of the conjugated 2D electrolytes, which led to their phase separation and precipitation into highly ordered and high aspect ratio 1D structures. As the reaction proceeds, long nanofiber bundles with branches were formed, resembling the structures formed by naturally occurring polyelectrolytes such as amino acids forming proteins. This method offers a facile approach for the continuous processing of heterostructured nanofibers with a low production cost under flow that can be widely applied in textiles, encapsulation technologies, and nanosensors.     

Facile Fabrication of Porous ZnS and ZnO Films by Coaxial Electrospinning for Highly Efficient Photodegradation of Organic Dyes

Porous ZnS and ZnO nano‐crystal films were fabricated via a three‐step procedure. First, Zn(CH₃COO)₂/Silk Fibroin nanofiber mats were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. Second, Zn(CH₃COO)₂/Silk Fibroin mats were immersed in NaS solution to react with S²⁻ to obtain ZnS/Silk Fibroin nanofiber mats. Finally, ZnO porous films were prepared by calcination of ZnS/Silk Fibroin composite mat at 600°C in air atmosphere. When ZnS/Silk Fibroin mats were calcinated in nitrogen, ZnS/Carbon composite mats were obtained accordingly. The resulting porous films were fully characterized. The ZnO porous films were the aggregation of ZnO nano‐crystal with hexagonal wurtzite structure. The seize of ZnO was estimated in the range of 10–20 nm. Both of the ZnS and ZnO nano‐crystal films exhibited high photocatalytic activities for the photodegradation of Methylene blue and Rhodamine B. It was also found that ZnO porous films are better than ZnS/Carbon nanofiber mats. In addition, photocatalysis of a real wastewater sample from a printing and dyeing company was conducted. The ZnO porous films exhibited excellent performance to treat the real samples. Moreover, the porous ZnO nano‐crystal photocatalyst could easily be recycled without notable loss of catalysis ability.