Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods
We introduced atomic sulfur passivation to tune the surface sites of heavy metal-free ZnSe nanorods, with a Zn<sup>2+</sup>-rich termination surface, which are initially capped with organic ligands and under-coordinated with Se. The S<sup>2−</sup> ions from a sodium sulfide s...
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doaj-8ca5d37e91694cf0a0426670314e83052020-11-25T03:13:22ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912020-05-01101081108110.3390/nano10061081Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe NanorodsFei Huang0Jiajia Ning1Wei Xiong2Ting Shen3Yanling Zhao4Jianjun Tian5Ruiqin Zhang6Andrey L. Rogach7Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaCenter for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaDepartment of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaInstitute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaDepartment of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaInstitute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaDepartment of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaCenter for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, ChinaWe introduced atomic sulfur passivation to tune the surface sites of heavy metal-free ZnSe nanorods, with a Zn<sup>2+</sup>-rich termination surface, which are initially capped with organic ligands and under-coordinated with Se. The S<sup>2−</sup> ions from a sodium sulfide solution were used to partially substitute a 3-mercaptopropionic acid ligand, and to combine with under-coordinated Zn termination atoms to form a ZnS monolayer on the ZnSe surface. This treatment removed the surface traps from the ZnSe nanorods, and passivated defects formed during the previous ligand exchange process, without sacrificing the efficient hole transfer. As a result, without using any co-catalysts, the atomic sulfur passivation increased the photocurrent density of TiO<sub>2</sub>/ZnSe photoanodes from 273 to 325 μA/cm<sup>2</sup>. Notably, without using any sacrificial agents, the photocurrent density for sulfur-passivated TiO<sub>2</sub>/ZnSe nanorod-based photoanodes remained at almost 100% of its initial value after 300 s of continuous operation, while for the post-deposited ZnS passivation layer, or those based on ZnSe/ZnS core–shell nanorods, it declined by 28% and 25%, respectively. This work highlights the advantages of the proper passivation of II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals as an efficient approach to tackle the efficient charge transfer and stability of photoelectrochemical cells based thereon.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/6/1081photoelectrochemical cellheavy metal-free photocatalystZnSe nanorodsatomic sulfur passivationZnS monolayer |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Fei Huang Jiajia Ning Wei Xiong Ting Shen Yanling Zhao Jianjun Tian Ruiqin Zhang Andrey L. Rogach |
spellingShingle |
Fei Huang Jiajia Ning Wei Xiong Ting Shen Yanling Zhao Jianjun Tian Ruiqin Zhang Andrey L. Rogach Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods Nanomaterials photoelectrochemical cell heavy metal-free photocatalyst ZnSe nanorods atomic sulfur passivation ZnS monolayer |
author_facet |
Fei Huang Jiajia Ning Wei Xiong Ting Shen Yanling Zhao Jianjun Tian Ruiqin Zhang Andrey L. Rogach |
author_sort |
Fei Huang |
title |
Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods |
title_short |
Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods |
title_full |
Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods |
title_fullStr |
Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods |
title_full_unstemmed |
Atomic Sulfur Passivation Improves the Photoelectrochemical Performance of ZnSe Nanorods |
title_sort |
atomic sulfur passivation improves the photoelectrochemical performance of znse nanorods |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Nanomaterials |
issn |
2079-4991 |
publishDate |
2020-05-01 |
description |
We introduced atomic sulfur passivation to tune the surface sites of heavy metal-free ZnSe nanorods, with a Zn<sup>2+</sup>-rich termination surface, which are initially capped with organic ligands and under-coordinated with Se. The S<sup>2−</sup> ions from a sodium sulfide solution were used to partially substitute a 3-mercaptopropionic acid ligand, and to combine with under-coordinated Zn termination atoms to form a ZnS monolayer on the ZnSe surface. This treatment removed the surface traps from the ZnSe nanorods, and passivated defects formed during the previous ligand exchange process, without sacrificing the efficient hole transfer. As a result, without using any co-catalysts, the atomic sulfur passivation increased the photocurrent density of TiO<sub>2</sub>/ZnSe photoanodes from 273 to 325 μA/cm<sup>2</sup>. Notably, without using any sacrificial agents, the photocurrent density for sulfur-passivated TiO<sub>2</sub>/ZnSe nanorod-based photoanodes remained at almost 100% of its initial value after 300 s of continuous operation, while for the post-deposited ZnS passivation layer, or those based on ZnSe/ZnS core–shell nanorods, it declined by 28% and 25%, respectively. This work highlights the advantages of the proper passivation of II-VI semiconductor nanocrystals as an efficient approach to tackle the efficient charge transfer and stability of photoelectrochemical cells based thereon. |
topic |
photoelectrochemical cell heavy metal-free photocatalyst ZnSe nanorods atomic sulfur passivation ZnS monolayer |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/6/1081 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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