Abstract

A facile and effective growing strategy of graphite-like carbon nitride quantum dots (CNQDs) modified on ZnO nanowire array composite electrodes has been successfully designed and prepared for the first time. The remarkable quantum enhanced properties were carefully studied by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance, PEC performance, and photocatalytic hydrogen production, and the results were in good agreement. Fivefold enhanced photoelectrochemical performances of this novel hierarchical hetero-array prepared in this paper compared with pure ZnO nanowire arrays were obtained under UV-light. The effect was attributed to the remarkable charge separation between CNQDs and ZnO nanowire arrays. Additional investigations revealed that the particular structure of CNQDs/ZnO composites contributed to the separation of a photon-generation carrier and an enhanced photoelectric current. Moreover, the absorption edge of CNQD-modified ZnO nanowire arrays was slightly broadened, and the diameter was reduced as well. The photoelectrochemistry hydrogen evolution splitting water using simulated solar irradiation exhibited the foreground of a possible application of a mechanism of photoelectrochemistry hydrogen evolution over CNQDs/ZnO composite electrodes.

Highlights

  • The growing environmental problems and energy crisis have been paid an increasing amount of attention

  • The results show that the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays were successfully synthesized and are good agreement with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) results

  • We investigated the photoelectrochemical properties of the ZnO@carbon nitride quantum dots (CNQDs) composite electrodes with simulated solar irradiation

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Summary

Introduction

The growing environmental problems and energy crisis have been paid an increasing amount of attention. Zinc oxide (ZnO) due to the low initial potential and the ability to quickly transfer electrons to stimulate more people to study it [7,8,9], Lei et al synthesized ZnO quantum dots and was employed to enhance H2 evolution for triazine imide and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ) [10]. Chen et al reported that the g-C3 N4 quantum dots (CNQDs) modified TiO2 and significantly enhanced photoelectric performance [29]. Fivefold enhanced photoelectrochemical performances of this novel hierarchical hetero-array prepared in this paper, compared with the pure ZnO nanowire arrays, were obtained under UV-light, and a possible application foreground of photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production evolution was exhibited

Morphology and Structure
PEC Performance
Electrochemical
IPCE was calculated as follows: and are in Figure
Photocatalytic
Mechanism the above
Catalyst Preparation
Materials and Methods
ZnO Nanowire Arrays Preparation
Characterization
PEC Measurements and Photoelectric Hydrogen Production
Conclusions

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