Abstract
Photoelectrochemical cell composed of solution-processed nanoflower heterostructure of Au core and eight CdSe petals was investigated for enhanced photocurrent generation. The electrode of CdSe nanorods displayed photocurrent density of 2.1 mA/cm2 whereas the Au core CdSe nanoflower exhibited 4.6 mA/cm2 corresponding to a 119% increase during photoelectrochemical cell performance. Both electrodes showed prompt response to the on/off cycles of light, the photocurrent gain (IPhoton/Idark) in CdSe nanorods is 124.7, while the value is 223.3 for Au/CdSe nanoflower, calculated from the growth-decay curves. Photoresponse time was dramatically improved for Au/CdSe nanoflower samples due to increasing in 66% incident photon-to-current emission. Electron lifetime of 21.63 and 48.71 ns was observed for the electrode of CdSe nanorods and Au/CdSe nanoflowers respectively. The prolonged electron lifetime in the case of the electrode of Au/CdSe nanoflowers was responsible for improving charge separation and as a consequence, higher photocurrent generation.
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This work was financially supported by the research seed money from Central University of Punjab, Bathinda [Project GP-25].
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Haldar, K.K., Biswas, R., Patra, A. et al. Au/CdSe hybrid nanoflowers: a high photocurrent generating photoelectrochemical cells. Gold Bull 52, 1–7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-018-0247-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-018-0247-y