title: Au nanoparticle sensitized ZnO nanopencil arrays for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
abstract: This paper describes the synthesis of Au nanoparticle sensitized ZnO nanopencil arrays on F-doped SnO2 substrates by an aqueous chemical growth and subsequent photoreduction method. The Au-ZnO nanopencil arrays yield a photocurrent of ∼ 1.5 mA cm(-2) at 1 V versus Ag/AgCl. The enhanced photocurrent is attributed to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Au nanoparticles and the prolonged lifetime of the photo-generated electron-hole pairs. The improved stability of ZnO is due to the plasmon resonance energy transfer process enabled by the Au nanoparticles, which enhances the electric field intensity in a small, well-defined location of the ZnO semiconductor.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin 300072, China. jlgong@tju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Tuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Changjiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong