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Photocurrent enhancement of heat treated CdSe-sensitized titania nanotube photoelectrode

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Abstract

The self-organized titania nanotube arrays (NTAs) fabricated by anodisation has gained enormous interest due to its high spatial orientation, excellent charge transfer structure, and large internal surface area; all are crucial properties influencing the absorption and propagation of light. In this study, a composite material, CdSe nanoparticle/TiO2 nanotube arrays (CdSe/TiO2 NTAs) were assembled through the insertion of CdSe nanoparticles onto the anodized TiO2 nanotube arrays via electrochemical deposition. The annealing temperature of CdSe/TiO2 NTAs was varied from 200 to 350 °C and was found to play an important role in controlling the formation of CdSe nanoparticles on TiO2 NTAs. Characterizations of the films were performed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopes, X-ray diffractometry and UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The transient photocurrent was examined in a three-electrode system under halogen illumination by using the prepared film as the photoanode. It was found that the CdSe nanoparticles were susceptible to spread through electrochemical deposition and formed on the nanotubes by annealing in nitrogen atmosphere. The increment in annealing temperature has resulted in greater amount of CdSe loaded onto TiO2 nanotube arrays. Therefore, a suitable annealing temperature can enhance the particle interaction, leading to considerable improvement in PEC performance. The sensitized CdSe/TiO2 NTAs annealed at 250 °C displayed 84 folds improvement in photoconversion efficiency than that of bare TiO2 NTAs counterparts.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research of Iraq for financial support to Asmaa Kadim Ayal. Special thanks are extended to Department of Chemistry and Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Microscopy Unit, Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Asmaa Kadim Ayal, Zulkarnain Zainal, Hong-Ngee Lim, Sook-Keng Chang & Araa Mebdir Holi

  2. Department of Chemistry, College of Science for Women, Baghdad University, Baghdad, Iraq

    Asmaa Kadim Ayal

  3. Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Zulkarnain Zainal, Sook-Keng Chang & Araa Mebdir Holi

  4. Functional Devices Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Hong-Ngee Lim

  5. Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Zainal Abidin Talib

  6. School of Chemistry and Environment, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    Ying-Chin Lim

  7. Department of Physics, College of Education, Al-Qadisiyah University, Al Diwaniyah, Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq

    Araa Mebdir Holi

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  1. Asmaa Kadim Ayal
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  2. Zulkarnain Zainal
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Correspondence to Zulkarnain Zainal.

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Ayal, A.K., Zainal, Z., Lim, HN. et al. Photocurrent enhancement of heat treated CdSe-sensitized titania nanotube photoelectrode. Opt Quant Electron 49, 164 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-017-0985-8

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