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Improved photoelectrochemical performance by forming a ZnO/ZnS core/shell nanorod array

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Abstract

ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications. Then, ZnS thin shell layers were deposited onto them via a facile hydrothermal treatment process for constructing a ZnO/ZnS core/shell structure. It was demonstrated that the PEC activity of a ZnO NRA is enhanced significantly after the surface modification, although there weren’t any obvious changes in the visible-light harvesting efficiency. Both the Nyquist and Mott-Schottky (M-S) plots were employed to reveal the reason, which was attributed to higher electrocatalytic activity of ZnS than that of ZnO and the resulting higher charge transfer efficiency across the solid/liquid interfaces. Finally, a schematic band model was proposed for clarifying the charge carrier transfer mechanism occurred at the interfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medical Imaging, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, 221004, China

    Mei-rong Sui  (隋美蓉) & Mei-lin Shi  (时梅林)

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Mei-rong Sui  (隋美蓉), Xiu-quan Gu  (顾修全), Yong Wang  (王永) & Lin-lin Liu  (刘琳琳)

Authors
  1. Mei-rong Sui  (隋美蓉)
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  2. Xiu-quan Gu  (顾修全)
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  3. Mei-lin Shi  (时梅林)
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  4. Yong Wang  (王永)
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  5. Lin-lin Liu  (刘琳琳)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mei-rong Sui  (隋美蓉).

Additional information

This work has been supported by the Science and Technology Projects of Xuzhou City (No.KC14SM088), and the Natural Science Fund for Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province (No.15KJB430031).

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Sui, Mr., Gu, Xq., Shi, Ml. et al. Improved photoelectrochemical performance by forming a ZnO/ZnS core/shell nanorod array. Optoelectron. Lett. 15, 241–244 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11801-019-8162-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11801-019-8162-x

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