Abstract

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are very promising for fabrication of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells to conduct hydrogen generation thanks to their low cost and tunable size/composition-dependent optoelectronic properties. However, most of current QDs-based PEC systems consist of highly toxic elements such as lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) that hinders their real-life usage and commercial purpose. It is hence significant to fabricate PEC cells by using non-toxic QDs as light absorbers. Herein, we synthesized eco-friendly colloidal CuInS2 (CIS) QDs via a simple one-pot method and as-prepared CIS QDs show good light absorption in visible region. These QDs were utilized them to sensitize mesoporous TiO2 film as the photoanode for fabrication of an efficient PEC device. The CIS QDs-based PEC cell shows a saturated photocurrent density as high as ∼0.8 mA/cm2 under one sun illumination (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW/cm2), suggesting that CIS QDs are favorable candidates to achieve low-cost, environment-friendly and high-performance PEC devices for hydrogen production.

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