Abstract
We have engineered the electronic structure at the interface between Cu2O and ZnO nanorods (NRs) array, through adjusting the carrier concentration of Cu2O. The electrodeposition of Cu2O at pH 11 acquired the highest carrier concentration, resulting in the largest interfacial electric field between Cu2O and ZnO, which finally led to the highest separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers. The optimized Cu2O/ZnO NRs array p-n heterostructures exhibited enhanced PEC performance, such as elevated photocurrent and photoconversion efficiency, as well as excellent sensing performance for the sensitive detection of glutathione (GSH) in PBS buffer even at applied bias of 0 V which made the device self-powered. Besides, the favorable selectivity, high reproducibility and extremely wide detection range, make such heterostructure a promising candidate for PEC biosensing applications, probably for the extended field of PEC water splitting or other solar photovoltaic beacons.
Highlights
We have engineered the electronic structure at the interface between Cu2O and ZnO nanorods (NRs) array, through adjusting the carrier concentration of Cu2O
The longer time ZnO was immersed in the alkaline electrodeposition solution, the more serious etching happened to ZnO NRs
Thereby, the optimal build-in potential was acquired at the Cu2O/ZnO interface, resulting in the efficient charge separation; (d) The step-wise energy band structure facilitated the photoinduced electrons to the electrode while promoted the photoinduced holes to accumulate in the valence band (VB) of Cu2O and subsequently to be consumed by participating in the oxidation of GSH
Summary
We have engineered the electronic structure at the interface between Cu2O and ZnO nanorods (NRs) array, through adjusting the carrier concentration of Cu2O. Cu2O is normally synthesized as a p-type semiconductor due to the copper vacancies in the lattice, and its carrier concentration is determined by the pH value www.nature.com/scientificreports of electrolyte during the electrodeposition synthesis process[27] This provides an approach to engineer the electronic structure at the interface of Cu2O/ZnO heterostructure. The engineered Cu2O/ZnO electronic structure at interface and electron transport channels of the individual ZnO NRs both contributed to the efficient separation of photoinduced charges, resulting in the enhanced PEC property and ideal biosensing performance for detection of GSH
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