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Vol. 10 No. 3 (2018)

Highly Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnO-Modified In2S3 Nanosheet Arrays by Atomic Layer Deposition

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-018-0199-z
Ming Li
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Xinglong Tu
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Yunhui Wang
College of Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of China
Yanjie Su
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Jing Hu
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Baofang Cai
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Jing Lu
National Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology, Shanghai 200241, People’s Republic of China
Zhi Yang
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China
Yafei Zhang
Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, Department of Micro/Nano Electronics, School of Electronics, Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Yafei Zhang

yfzhang@sjtu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 10 No. 3 (2018), Article Number: 45

Abstract

Photoanodes based on In2S3/ZnO heterojunction nanosheet arrays (NSAs) have been fabricated by atomic layer deposition of ZnO over In2S3 NSAs, which were in situ grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide glasses via a facile solvothermal process. The as-prepared photoanodes show dramatically enhanced performance for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, compared to single semiconductor counterparts. The optical and PEC properties of In2S3/ZnO NSAs have been optimized by modulating the thickness of the ZnO overlayer. After pairing with ZnO, the NSAs exhibit a broadened absorption range and an increased light absorptance over a wide wavelength region of 250–850 nm. The optimized sample of In2S3/ZnO-50 NSAs shows a photocurrent density of 1.642 mA cm−2 (1.5 V vs. RHE) and an incident photon-to-current efficiency of 27.64% at 380 nm (1.23 V vs. RHE), which are 70 and 116 times higher than those of the pristine In2S3 NSAs, respectively. A detailed energy band edge analysis reveals the type-II band alignment of the In2S3/ZnO heterojunction, which enables efficient separation and collection of photogenerated carriers, especially with the assistance of positive bias potential, and then results in the significantly increased PEC activity.


Highlights:


1 The In2S3/ZnO core/shell nanosheet arrays (NSAs) were fabricated by atomic layer deposition of ZnO over In2S3 NSAs, demonstrating highly enhanced photoelectrochemical performance for water splitting.
2 The In2S3/ZnO NSAs exhibit an optimal photocurrent of 1.64 mA cm−2 and incident photon-to-current efficiency of 27.64%, which are 70 and 116 times higher than those of the pristine In2S3 NSAs, respectively.
3 A detailed energy band edge analysis reveals the type-II band alignment of the In2S3/ZnO heterojunction.

Keywords

In2S3/ZnO Heterojunction Nanosheet arrays Atomic layer deposition Photoelectrochemical Water splitting Energy band
Li, Ming, Xinglong Tu, Yunhui Wang, Yanjie Su, Jing Hu, Baofang Cai, Jing Lu, Zhi Yang, and Yafei Zhang. 2018. “Highly Enhanced Visible-Light-Driven Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnO-Modified In2S3 Nanosheet Arrays by Atomic Layer Deposition”. Nano-Micro Letters 10 (3):45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-018-0199-z.
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