title: A hydrothermally grown CdS nanograin-sensitized 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3/FTO photoanode for efficient solar-light-driven photoelectrochemical performance.
abstract: Well-defined CdS nanograin-sensitized one-dimensional (1D) Zr:α-Fe2O3nanostructured arrays with enhanced photoelectrochemical performance are synthesized directly on F-doped SnO2(FTO) using the hydrothermal method. Owing predominantly to the appropriate photogenerated electron-hole separation and charge collection in 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3nanorods, hydrothermally deposited CdS/1D Zr:α-Fe2O3samples exhibit improved photocurrent density over CdS/Fe2O3nanosheets prepared by other methods. In our work, compared with 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3, the CdS-sensitized 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3nanorod arrays show 1.9 times improved photoelectrochemical performance. Unfortunately, CdS nanograin-sensitized 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3nanorod arrays suffer from instability problem. Nickel hydroxide loading, however, can boost the photoelectrochemical performance of the heterojunction and also act as a protective layer that improves the stability of the Ni(OH)2/CdS/1D Zr:α-Fe2O3electrode compared to CdS/1D Zr:α-Fe2O3. This enhanced PEC activity may be ascribed to the strong heterojunctions between CdS nanograins and 1D Zr:α-Fe2O3nanorod arrays as well as effective charge separation. This work will provide a new insight into the fabrication and protection of many new photosensitive electrode materials to engineer photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic devices in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Safety, Environment and Life Science Institute, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan 570-752, Republic of Korea. jangjs75@jbnu.ac.kr cho317@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Mahadeo A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mahadik
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Safety, Environment and Life Science Institute, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan 570-752, Republic of Korea. jangjs75@jbnu.ac.kr cho317@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Arunprabaharan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.affiliation: Mineral Resources Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jungho
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Safety, Environment and Life Science Institute, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan 570-752, Republic of Korea. jangjs75@jbnu.ac.kr cho317@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Safety, Environment and Life Science Institute, College of Environmental and Bioresource Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Iksan 570-752, Republic of Korea. jangjs75@jbnu.ac.kr cho317@jbnu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jum Suk
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6874-8216
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Jang