Abstract
Herein, by using chemical methods such as successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and spin coating we have demonstrated a novel strategy for the synthesis of ternary hybrid to study photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time we have represented a case study of achieving optimum SILAR cycles for Ag nanoparticles decoration on ZnO nanorods and a discussion was made on a role of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as a top layer over Ag–ZnO nanostructures for better PEC performance. Firstly, Ag nanoparticles loading over SILAR grown ZnO nanorods was varied for different SILAR cycles to optimize better photocurrent. This Ag–ZnO hybrid showed higher photocurrent density of 0.45 mA/cm2 at 1 V bias (vs SCE) and photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.21% (0.45 V vs SCE). Thereafter, MWCNTs were garnished by using spin coating as a top layer on Ag–ZnO hybrid leading to the formation of ternary hybrid of MWCNT–Ag–ZnO for further enhancement of PEC activity. We believe that top layer of MWCNT plays a vital role of electron and hole transfer and bridges Ag decorated ZnO nanorods together leading to well-connected conducting pathways for efficient charge collection and transport. The appropriate band bending of MWCNT–Ag–ZnO hybrid leads to the formation of active interface helping out in charge separation leading to excellent photocurrent density of 0.56 mA/cm2 at 1 V bias (vs SCE) and photoconversion efficiency of 0.26% (0.45 V vs SCE).
Graphical abstract
Enhanced light harvesting, higher donor density, appropriate band bending, lowest charge transfer radius of C–Ag–ZnO hybrid signifies that efficient charge transfer and restriction to charge recombination leading to the enhanced PEC performance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hisatomi T, Kubota J, Domen K (2014) Recent advances in semiconductors for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Chem Soc Rev 43:7520–7535
Haladkar SA, Desai MA, Sartale SD, Alegaonkar PS (2018) Assessment of ecologically prepared carbon-nano-spheres for fabrication of flexible and durable supercell devices. J Mater Chem A 6:7246–7256
Li Y, Zhang JZ (2010) Hydrogen generation from photoelectrochemical water splitting based on nanomaterials. Laser Photonics Rev 4:517–528
van de Krol R, Liang Y, Schoonman J (2008) Solar hydrogen production with nanostructured metal oxides. J Mater Chem 18:2311–2320
Desai MA, Vyas AN, Saratale GD, Sartale SD (2019) Zinc oxide superstructures: recent synthesis approaches and application for hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical water splitting. Int J Hydrog Energy 44:2091–2127
Desai MA, Sharma V, Prasad M, Jadkar S, Saratale GD, Sartale SD (2019) Seed-layer-free deposition of well-oriented ZnO nanorods thin films by SILAR and their photoelectrochemical studies. Int J Hydrog Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.09.150
Wang T, Lv R, Zhang P, Li C, Gong J (2015) Au nanoparticle sensitized ZnO nanopencil arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Nanoscale 7:77–81
Desai MA, Sartale S (2016) Zinc oxide thin films: nanoflakes to spongy balls via seed layer. Adv Sci Lett 22:880–883
Yang X, Wolcott A, Wang G, Sobo A, Fitzmorris RC, Qian F, Zhang JZ, Li Y (2009) Nitrogen-doped zno nanowire arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Nano Lett 9:2331–2336
Kumari B, Sharma S, Singh N, Verma A, Satsangi VR, Dass S, Shrivastav R (2014) ZnO thin films, surface embedded with biologically derived Ag/Au nanoparticles, for efficient photoelectrochemical splitting of water. Int J Hydrog Energy 39:18216–18229
Li H, Yao C, Meng L, Sun H, Huang J, Gong Q (2013) Photoelectrochemical performance of hydrogenated ZnO/CdS core–shell nanorod arrays. Electrochim Acta 108:45–50
Kargar A, Jing Y, Kim SJ, Riley CT, Pan X, Wang D (2013) ZnO/CuO Heterojunction branched nanowires for photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation. ACS Nano 7:11112–11120
Hsu Y-K, Chen Y-C, Lin Y-G (2015) Novel ZnO/Fe2O3 core-shell nanowires for photoelectrochemical water splitting. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 7:14157–14162
Wei Y, Du H, Kong J, Lu X, Ke L, Sun XW (2014) Multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified zno nanorods: a photoanode for photoelectrochemical cell. Electrochim Acta 143:188–195
Wei Y, Kong J, Yang L, Ke L, Tan HR, Liu H, Huang Y, Sun XW, Lu X, Du H (2013) Polydopamine-assisted decoration of ZnO nanorods with Ag nanoparticles: an improved photoelectrochemical anode. J Mater Chem A 1:5045–5052
Tarwal N, Patil P (2011) Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of Ag–ZnO thin films synthesized by spray pyrolysis technique. Electrochim Acta 56:6510–6516
Sharma V, Prasad M, Rokade A, Ilaiyaraja P, Sudakar C, Jadkar S (2019) Ag−Au-bimetal incorporated ZnO-nanorods photo-anodes for efficient photoelectrochemical splitting of water. Energy Technol 7:233–239
Thomas M, Sun W, Cui J (2012) Mechanism of Ag doping in ZnO nanowires by electrodeposition: experimental and theoretical insights. J Phys Chem C 116:6383–6391
Lupan O, Cretu V, Postica V, Ahmadi M, Cuenya BR, Chow L, Tiginyanu I, Viana B, Pauporté T, Adelung R (2016) Silver-doped zinc oxide single nanowire multifunctional nanosensor with a significant enhancement in response. Sens Actuators B Chem 223:893–903
Pauporté T, Lupan O, Zhang J, Tugsuz T, Ciofini I, Labat F, Viana B (2015) Low-temperature preparation of Ag-doped ZnO nanowire arrays, DFT study, and application to light-emitting diode. ACS Appl Mater Interf 7:11871–11880
Prasad M, Sharma V, Aher R, Rokade A, Ilaiyaraja P, Sudakar C, Jadkar S (2017) Synergistic effect of Ag plasmon-and reduced graphene oxide-embedded ZnO nanorod-based photoanodes for enhanced photoelectrochemical activity. J Mater Sci 52:13572–13585. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1436-4
Xiao J, Zhang X, Li Y (2015) A ternary g-C3N4/Pt/ZnO photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting. Int J Hydrog Energy 40:9080–9087
Han W, Ren L, Qi X, Liu Y, Wei X, Huang Z, Zhong J (2014) Synthesis of CdS/ZnO/graphene composite with high-efficiency photoelectrochemical activities under solar radiation. Appl Surf Sci 299:12–18
Patil SS, Johar MA, Hassan MA, Patil DR, Ryu S-W (2018) Anchoring MWCNTs to 3D honeycomb ZnO/GaN heterostructures to enhancing photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Appl Catal B 237:791–801
Tang Y, Zheng Z, Sun X, Li X, Li L (2019) Ternary CdS-MoS2 coated ZnO nanobrush photoelectrode for one-dimensional acceleration of charge separation upon visible light illumination. Chem Eng J 368:448–458
Desai MA, Sartale SD (2014) ZnS nanoflakes deposition by modified chemical method. AIP Conf Proc 1591:1763–1765
Pathan H, Lokhande C (2004) Deposition of metal chalcogenide thin films by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. Bull Mater Sci 27:85–111
Shaikh IM, Sartale SD (2018) SILAR grown Ag nanoparticles as an efficient large area SERS substrate. J Raman Spectrosc 49:1274–1287
Vyas AN, Desai MA, Phase DM, Saratale RG, Ambekar JD, Kale BB, Pathan HM, Sartale SD (2019) Nickel nanoparticles grown by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method for ethanol electrooxidation and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance study. New J Chem 43:2955–2965
Desai MA, Sartale SD (2015) Facile soft solution route to engineer hierarchical morphologies of ZnO nanostructures. Cryst Growth Des 15:4813–4820
Wahab R, Ansari S, Kim YS, Song M, Shin H-S (2009) The role of pH variation on the growth of zinc oxide nanostructures. Appl Surf Sci 255:4891–4896
Pawar RC, Shaikh JS, Babar AA, Dhere PM, Patil PS (2011) Aqueous chemical growth of ZnO disks, rods, spindles and flowers: pH dependency and photoelectrochemical properties. Sol Energy 85:1119–1127
Rozati SM, Moradi S, Golshahi S, Martins R, Fortunato E (2009) Electrical, structural and optical properties of fluorine-doped zinc oxide thin films: Effect of the solution aging time. Thin Solid Films 518:1279–1282
Varma RS, Thorat N, Fernandes R, Kothari DC, Patel N, Miotello A (2016) Dependence of photocatalysis on charge carrier separation in Ag-doped and decorated TiO2 nanocomposites. Catal Sci Technol 6:8428–8440
Moraes RA, Matos CF, Castro EG, Schreiner WH, Oliveira MM, Zarbin AJ (2011) The effect of different chemical treatments on the structure and stability of aqueous dispersion of iron-and iron oxide-filled multi-walled carbon nanotubes. J Braz Chem Soc 22:2191–2201
Chen C, Zheng Y, Zhan Y, Lin X, Zheng Q, Wei K (2011) Enhanced Raman scattering and photocatalytic activity of Ag/ZnO heterojunction nanocrystals. Dalton Trans 40:9566–9570
Bazant P, Kuritka I, Munster L, Kalina L (2015) Microwave solvothermal decoration of the cellulose surface by nanostructured hybrid Ag/ZnO particles: a joint XPS XRD and SEM study. Cellulose 22:1275–1293
Zhang X, Wang Y, Hou F, Li H, Yang Y, Zhang X, Yang Y, Wang Y (2017) Effects of Ag loading on structural and photocatalytic properties of flower-like ZnO microspheres. Appl Surf Sci 391:476–483
Sawant SY, Kim JY, Han TH, Ansari SA, Cho MH (2018) Electrochemically active biofilm-assisted biogenic synthesis of an Ag-decorated ZnO@ C core–shell ternary plasmonic photocatalyst with enhanced visible-photocatalytic activity. New J Chem 42:1995–2005
Travessa DN, Silva FSd, Cristovan FH, Jorge Jr AM, Cardoso KR (2014) Ag ion decoration for surface modifications of multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Mater Res 17:687–693
Corio P, Santos A, Santos PS, Temperini MLA, Brar V, Pimenta MA, Dresselhaus M (2004) Characterization of single wall carbon nanotubes filled with silver and with chromium compounds. Chem Phys Lett 383:475–480
Allagui A, Alawadhi H, Alkaaby M, Gaidi M, Mostafa K, Abdulaziz Y (2016) Mott–Schottky analysis of flower‐like ZnO microstructures with constant phase element behavior. Physica Status Solidi (a) 213:139–145
Yang Y, Guo W, Wang X, Wang Z, Qi J, Zhang Y (2012) Size dependence of dielectric constant in a single pencil-like ZnO nanowire. Nano Lett 12:1919–1922
Chaudhary D, Singh S, Vankar VD, Khare N (2017) A ternary Ag/TiO2/CNT photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting under visible light irradiation. Int J Hydrog Energy 42:7826–7835
Chiu Y-H, Chang K-D, Hsu Y-J (2018) Plasmon-mediated charge dynamics and photoactivity enhancement for Au-decorated ZnO nanocrystals. J Mater Chem A 6:4286–4296
Rokade A, Rondiya S, Sharma V, Prasad M, Pathan H, Jadkar S (2017) Electrochemical synthesis of 1D ZnO nanoarchitectures and their role in efficient photoelectrochemical splitting of water. J Solid State Electrochem 21:2639–2648
Trang TNQ, Phan TB, Nam ND, Thu VTH (2020) In Situ charge transfer at the Ag@ZnO photoelectrochemical interface toward the high photocatalytic performance of H2 evolution and RhB degradation. ACS Appl Mater Interf 12:12195–12206
Adam RE, Pirhashemi M, Elhag S, Liu X, Habibi-Yangjeh A, Willander M, Nur O (2019) ZnO/Ag/Ag2WO4 photo-electrodes with plasmonic behavior for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation. RSC Adv 9:8271–8279
Shu Q, Wei J, Wang K, Zhu H, Li Z, Jia Y, Gui X, Guo N, Li X, Ma C (2009) Hybrid heterojunction and photoelectrochemistry solar cell based on silicon nanowires and double-walled carbon nanotubes. Nano Lett 9:4338–4342
Pirhashemi M, Habibi-Yangjeh A (2017) Ultrasonic-assisted preparation of plasmonic ZnO/Ag/Ag2WO4 nanocomposites with high visible-light photocatalytic performance for degradation of organic pollutants. J Colloid Interf Sci 491:216–229
Zhang H, Chen G, Bahnemann DW (2009) Photoelectrocatalytic materials for environmental applications. J Mater Chem 19:5089–5121
Wu Z, Xu C, Wu Y, Yu H, Tao Y, Wan H, Gao F (2013) ZnO nanorods/Ag nanoparticles heterostructures with tunable Ag contents: a facile solution-phase synthesis and applications in photocatalysis. CrystEngComm 15:5994–6002
Ago H, Kugler T, Cacialli F, Salaneck WR, Shaffer MS, Windle AH, Friend RH (1999) Work functions and surface functional groups of multiwall carbon nanotubes. J Phys Chem B 103:8116–8121
Oh W-C, Zhang F-J, Chen M-L (2010) Characterization and photodegradation characteristics of organic dye for Pt–titania combined multi-walled carbon nanotube composite catalysts. J Ind Eng Chem 16:321–326
Oh W-C, Chen M-L (2008) Synthesis and characterization of CNT/TiO 2 composites thermally derived from MWCNT and titanium (IV) n-butoxide. Bull Korean Chem Soc 29:159–164
Zhao Q, Tan S, Xie M, Liu Y, Yi J (2018) A study on the CNTs-Ag composites prepared based on spark plasma sintering and improved electroless plating assisted by ultrasonic spray atomization. J Alloy Compd 737:31–38
Lan F, Li G (2013) Direct observation of hole transfer from semiconducting polymer to carbon nanotubes. Nano Lett 13:2086–2091
Acknowledgements
Mangesh A. Desai is thankful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, for awarding senior research fellowship (SRF).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Handling Editor: Kyle Brinkman.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Desai, M.A., Sharma, V., Prasad, M. et al. Photoelectrochemical performance of MWCNT–Ag–ZnO ternary hybrid: a study of Ag loading and MWCNT garnishing. J Mater Sci 56, 8627–8642 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-05821-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-05821-5