Nano Research

, Volume 7, Issue 3, pp 353–364 | Cite as

Activating ZnO nanorod photoanodes in visible light by Cu ion implantation

  • Meng Wang
  • Feng Ren
  • Guangxu Cai
  • Yichao Liu
  • Shaohua Shen
  • Liejin Guo
Research Article
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Accepted:

Abstract

Utilization of visible light is of crucial importance for exploiting efficient semiconductor catalysts for solar water splitting. In this study, an advanced ion implantation method was utilized to dope Cu ions into ZnO nanorod arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting in visible light. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that Cu+ together with a small amount of Cu2+ were highly dispersed within the ZnO nanorod arrays. The Cu ion doped ZnO nanorod arrays displayed extended optical absorption and enhanced photoelectrochemical performance under visible light illumination (λ > 420 nm). A considerable photocurrent density of 18 μA/cm2 at 0.8 V (vs. a saturated calomel electrode) was achieved, which was about 11 times higher than that of undoped ZnO nanorod arrays. This study proposes that ion implantation could be an effective approach for developing novel visible-light-driven photocatalytic materials for water splitting.

Keywords

ion implantation Cu ion doping ZnO nanorods photoanode water splitting 
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Copyright information

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Meng Wang
    • 1
  • Feng Ren
    • 2
  • Guangxu Cai
    • 2
  • Yichao Liu
    • 2
  • Shaohua Shen
    • 1
  • Liejin Guo
    • 1
  1. 1.International Research Centre for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power EngineeringXi’an Jiaotong UniversityShaanxiChina
  2. 2.School of Physics and Technology, Center for Ion Beam ApplicationWuhan UniversityWuhanChina

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