Continuous Tuning of Au–Cu2O Janus Nanostructures for Efficient Charge Separation |
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| Authors: | Wenjia Xu Jia Jia Dr Ti Wang Dr Chao Li Bowen He Jianpeng Zong Yawen Wang Prof?Dr Hong Jin Fan Prof?Dr Hongxing Xu Prof?Dr Yuhua Feng Prof?Dr Hongyu Chen |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Advanced Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Centre for Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816 China;2. School of Physics and Technology, Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nanostructures of Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072 China;3. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Porous Materials and Center for Electron Microscopy, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, 300384 China;4. School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637371 Singapore |
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| Abstract: | In photocatalysis, the Schottky barrier in metal–semiconductor hybrids is known to promote charge separation, but a core–shell structure always leads to a charge build-up and eventually shuts off the photocurrent. Here, we show that Au–Cu2O hybrid nanostructures can be continuously tuned, particularly when the Cu2O domains are single-crystalline. This is in contrast to the conventional systems, where the hybrid configuration is mainly determined by the choice of materials. The distal separation of the Au–Cu2O domains in Janus nanostructures leads to enhanced charge separation and a large improvement of the photocurrent. The activity of the Au–Cu2O Janus structures is 5 times higher than that of the core–shell structure, and 10 times higher than that of the neat Cu2O nanocubes. The continuous structural tuning allows to study the structure–property relationship and an optimization of the photocatalytic performance. |
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| Keywords: | Au–Cu2O hybrid structures charge separation interfacial energy Janus structures Schottky barrier |
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