In Situ Growth of Matchlike ZnO/Au Plasmonic Heterostructure for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2014 papers
Abstract
In this paper, we report a novel matchlike zinc oxide (ZnO)/gold (Au) heterostructure with plasmonic-enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity for solar hydrogen production. The matchlike heterostructure with Au nanoparticles coated on the tip of ZnO nanorods is in situ grown on a zinc (Zn) substrate by using a facile hydrothermal and photoreduction combined approach. This unique heterostructure exhibits plasmonic-enhanced light absorption, efficient charge separation and transportation properties with tunable Au contents. The photocurrent density of the matchlike ZnO/Au heterostructure reaches 9.11 mA/cm(2) at an applied potential of 1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl) with an Au/Zn atomic ratio of 0.039, which is much higher than that of the pristine ZnO nanorod array (0.33 mA/cm(2)). Moreover, the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of this special heterostructure can reach 0.48%, 16 times higher than that of the pristine ZnO nanorod array (0.03%). What is more, the efficiency could be further improved by optimizing the Au content of the heterostructure. The formation mechanism of such a unique heterostructure is proposed to explain the plasmonic-enhanced PEC performance. This study might contribute to the rational design of the visible-light-responsive plasmonic semiconductor/metal heterostructure photoanode to harvest the solar spectrum.
Related Papers
- → Preparation, characterization and activity evaluation of p–n junction photocatalyst p-ZnO/n-TiO2(2008)271 cited
- → Photocatalysis: A novel approach to efficient demulsification(2015)29 cited
- The Assisted Excitations for Photocatalysis and Their Applications in Environment Treatments(2010)
- Underlayer Exposure Treatment of ZnO:Al-TiO_2 Coupled Film and Investigation to its Photocatalysis(2008)
- Preparation and photocatalytic activity of Fe~(3+)/Al~(3+)-TiO_2 composite photocatalyst and its the photocatalytic activity(2010)