NC Meets CN: Porous Photoanodes with Polymeric Carbon Nitride/ZnSe Nanocrystal Heterojunctions for Photoelectrochemical Applications.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
; 16(29): 38153-38162, 2024 Jul 24.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39010305
ABSTRACT
The utilization of photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) for converting solar energy into fuels (e.g., hydrogen) is a promising method for sustainable energy generation. We demonstrate a strategy to enhance the performance of PEC devices by integrating surface-functionalized zinc selenide (ZnSe) semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) into porous polymeric carbon nitride (CN) matrices to form a uniformly distributed blend of NCs within the CN layer via electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The achieved type II heterojunction at the CN/NC interface exhibits intimate contact between the NCs and the CN backbone since it does not contain insulating binders. This configuration promotes efficient charge separation and suppresses carrier recombination. The reported CN/NC composite structure serves as a photoanode, demonstrating a photocurrent density of 160 ± 8 µA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), 75% higher compared with a CN-based photoelectrode, for approximately 12 h. Spectral and photoelectrochemical analyses reveal extended photoresponse, reduced charge recombination, and successful charge transfer at the formed heterojunction; these properties result in enhanced PEC oxygen production activity with a Faradaic efficiency of 87%. The methodology allows the integration of high-quality colloidal NCs within porous CN-based photoelectrodes and provides numerous knobs for tuning the functionality of the composite systems, thus showing promise for achieving enhanced solar fuel production using PEC.
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Langue:
En
Journal:
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
Sujet du journal:
BIOTECNOLOGIA
/
ENGENHARIA BIOMEDICA
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Israël
Pays de publication:
États-Unis d'Amérique