A ZnO/ZnO: Cr isostructural nanojunction electrode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Shaohua Shen, Coleman X. Kronawitter, Jiangang Jiang, Penghui Guo, Liejin Guo, Samuel S. Mao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

The fabrication and photoelectrochemical characterization of a ZnO/ZnO:Cr isostructural nanojunction electrode is presented. When compared to its constituent components the isostructural nanojunction showed superior performance for water splitting under simulated solar light and visible light (λ510. nm) illumination. In the engineered structure, the presence of intra-bandgap states associated with Cr impurities increases optical absorption, and the nanorod morphology provides a direct pathway for transport of photo-excited electrons to the back contact. The overall photoelectrochemical performance of the ZnO/ZnO:Cr engineered structure is relatively low, however the concept may prove to be applicable to more optimized structures or material systems.

Original languageBritish English
Pages (from-to)958-965
Number of pages8
JournalNano Energy
Volume2
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013

Keywords

  • Cr doping
  • Nanojunction
  • Photoanodes
  • Water splitting
  • ZnO nanorods

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