Abstract
The rising demand for clean energy requires efficient as well as simple and cost-effective systems to be found to convert solar energy into electricity or chemical fuels. Colloidal nanomaterials, especially metal chalcogenides, are among the most promising candidates for energy applications. This is because of their well-developed surface chemistries, ease of heterostructure creation, superior light-harvesting abilities, and tunable optical and electronic properties, which stem from quantum confinement effects. The photocatalytic efficiencies of metal chalcogenides, however, are limited by slow redox processes that occur on their surfaces. These redox processes occur on timescales much slower than native charge carrier recombination processes. Consequently, to increase photocatalytic efficiencies, photogenerated charge carrier lifetimes must be increased. This entails enhancing the spatial separation of electrons and holes in order to prevent their recombination. This review outlines the most popular strategies employed today to improve the photocatalytic performance of II–VI nanostructures.
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Zhukovskyi, M., Yashan, H. & Kuno, M. Low-dimensional II–VI semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Res Chem Intermed 45, 4249–4260 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-019-03904-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11164-019-03904-2