Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of bridged ZnO nanorod arrays grown on V-grooved structure.
Bridged ZnO nanorod arrays on a V-grooved Si(100) substrate were used as the photoanode of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell for water splitting. Photolithography followed by reactive ion etching was employed to create a V-grooved structure on a Si substrate. ZnO nanorod arrays were grown via a hydrothermal method. The light trapping and PEC properties are greatly enhanced using the bridged ZnO nanorod arrays on a V-grooved Si substrate compared with those on a flat one. Increased short circuit photocurrent density (J(SC), 0.73 mA cm(-2)) and half-life time (1500 s) are achieved. This improved J(SC) and half-life time are 4 times and 10 times, respectively, higher than those of the ZnO nanorod arrays grown on a flat substrate. The overall PEC cell performance improvement for the V-groove grown ZnO array is attributed to the reduced light reflection and enhanced light trapping effect. Moreover, V-groove ZnO showed stronger adhesion between ZnO nanorod arrays and the substrate.
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore.
Yuefan
Y
Wei
Lin
L
Ke
Eunice S P
ES
Leong
Hong
H
Liu
Laura-Lynn
LL
Liew
Jing Hua
JH
Teng
Hejun
H
Du
Xiao Wei
XW
Sun