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Heterojunction CdS/CuO/ZnO branched nanowire photoelectrodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

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Abstract

Developing of novel photoelectrode materials with high durability and efficiency is a key step for practical realization of solar driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, we report a rational and simple approach to fabricate heterojunction CdS/CuO/ZnO branched nanowires serving as the photoelectrodes with boosted PEC efficiency toward highly efficient water splitting. The ZnO branched nanowires were first hydrothermally synthesized from electrospun ZnO nanofibers followed by decorating of CuO nanoparticles via photoreduction. Finally, CdS nanoparticles were wrapped thoroughly the CuO/ZnO heterojuction by chemical bath deposition that form a socalled “ternary core–shell” structure. The optimized heterojunction CdS/CuO/ZnO branched nanowire photoelectrode displays a significantly enhanced photoconversion efficiency of 3.9% under solar simulation, which is 1.8, 18 and 30 times higher than that of the corresponding CdS/ZnO, CuO/ZnO and pristine ZnO branched nanowire photoelectrodes, respectively. The largest hydrogen production was measured to be 1.7 mL cm−2 upon 3600 s exposure time, which is about 1.7 times greater than that of the CdS/ZnO electrode and in line with the one extrapolated from the PEC water splitting measurement. Our finding provides a rational strategy for the design of highly efficient and durable photoelectrodes for PEC water splitting process.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam under the grant number B2021-DQN-03.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Quy Nhon University, 170 An Duong Vuong, Quy Nhon, 590000, Vietnam

    Hoang Nhat Hieu, Nguyen Van Nghia, Nguyen Minh Vuong, Loan Le Thi Ngoc & Thanh Hai Phan

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  1. Hoang Nhat Hieu
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  2. Nguyen Van Nghia
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  3. Nguyen Minh Vuong
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  4. Loan Le Thi Ngoc
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  5. Thanh Hai Phan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [HNH] and [NVN]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [HNH], [THP] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hoang Nhat Hieu.

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Hieu, H.N., Van Nghia, N., Vuong, N.M. et al. Heterojunction CdS/CuO/ZnO branched nanowire photoelectrodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 25567–25579 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-09255-w

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