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Enhancement in photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO nanoparticle–based photoelectrodes with incorporation of Cu dopant source

  • Original Paper: Sol–gel and hybrid materials for catalytic, photoelectrochemical and sensor applications
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Abstract

Pristine- and copper-doped ZnO thin films with various concentrations were deposited on tin-doped indium oxide–coated glass substrates using the sol–gel method followed by the spin-coating technique. All the deposited samples were further processed with annealing at 450 °C with the aim of decreasing defects in the sample. Structural properties revealed that films are polycrystalline in nature and morphological study represented an increase in particle size with increasing Cu-doping concentration. The absorption data show band gap narrowing and electrical analysis shows an increase in conductivity and carrier concentration with optimized Cu-doping concentration. This study shows that sol–gel–derived Cu-doped ZnO thin films show low band gap, low electrical resistivity, and high transmittance and can be used for optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, films were tested for photoelectrochemical performance in 0.5 M Na2SO4 electrolyte solution. An optimum amount of Cu dopant with ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) has shown enhanced photocurrent density which six times enhanced and increased photoconversion efficiency compared to those of the bare ZnO NPs.

Graphical abstract

Structural, surface morphological and photoelectrochemical study of Cu-doped ZnO samples. The formation of Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles with various concentrations of Cu dopants. The enhanced photocurrent density in the optimized sample is more than six times compared to those of the bare ZnO nanoparticles

Highlights

  • Low cost hydrothermal method was used to prepare Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles based thin films.

  • Cu doping exhibit change in band gap compared to undoped ZnO nanoparticles based thin films.

  • The increase of conductivity is caused by extra electron carrier with Cu doping.

  • Electrochemical measurements confirm applicability in photoelectrochemical cells.

  • Cu doped ZnO nanoparticles enhanced the photocurrent density and photo-conversion efficiency which is more than 06 times compared to those of the bare ZnO nanoparticles.

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Acknowledgements

MC and RT would like to acknowledge Dr S. K. Sharma, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, for his support in getting photoluminescence measurements. MC and RT acknowledge the financial support from the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, India. MC would like to acknowledge the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India, for providing Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) Bhaskara Advanced Solar Energy (BASE) fellowship-2016 and National Postdoctoral Fellowship with the project no. PDF/2017/001629.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, 826 004, India

    Mohua Chakraborty & R. Thangavel

  2. Department of Physics, C. V. Raman Global University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 752 054, India

    Mohua Chakraborty & Dhrubojyoti Roy

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  1. Mohua Chakraborty
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  2. R. Thangavel
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  3. Dhrubojyoti Roy
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Correspondence to Mohua Chakraborty.

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Chakraborty, M., Thangavel, R. & Roy, D. Enhancement in photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO nanoparticle–based photoelectrodes with incorporation of Cu dopant source. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 107, 467–473 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06118-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-023-06118-6

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