Abstract
CdSe is an important semiconductor for photoelectrochemistry. Here, we propose a two-step method for preparing thin films of aggregated CdSe nanoparticles on Cd electrodes. We first anodized the Cd electrode in an aqueous solution of 0.2 M KNO3 at −0.9 V (vs. Hg|Hg2SO4(s)|K2SO4 (saturated)) into a porous and layered structure covered with Cd(OH)2 precipitation, and then selenized the Cd(OH)2 deposited on the Cd anode in an aqueous solution of 0.2 M Na2SeSO3. The resulting CdSe nanoparticles self-assembled into strawberry-like nanoaggregates. The anodization time and selenization time were optimized separately. Under our experimental conditions, the optimized anodization time was 80 s, whereas the optimized selenization time ranged from 15 to 60 min, corresponding to the partial or complete conversion of the deposited Cd(OH)2 into smaller and larger strawberry-like CdSe nanoaggregates, respectively. The optimized partially and completely selenized films showed photocurrent responses that were enhanced in different ways but demonstrated comparable performances. They presented an anodic photocurrent density as high as 3.2 mA cm−2 at −0.3 V with good stability under visible light illumination of 100 mW cm−2 in a solution containing a sacrificial reagent of ascorbic acid.
Strawberry-like CdSe nanoaggregates were prepared by selenizing the anodization film of Cd(OH)2 on Cd electrode and they demonstrated enhanced photoelectrochemical performance.
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Acknowledgments
We appreciate the financial support of this research provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 21173075 and 21403063) and the Construct Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan Province.
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Yun Xie and Liyan Wang contributed equally to this work.
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Xie, Y., Wang, L., Liu, P. et al. Fabrication of strawberry-like nano-CdSe thin films for photoelectrochemistry by selenizing Cd(OH)2 deposits obtained from the anodization of Cd. J Solid State Electrochem 21, 477–483 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3383-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3383-4