Issue 26, 2015

Hierarchical nanowire arrays based on carbon nanotubes and Co3O4 decorated ZnO for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Abstract

A highly enhanced activity for photoelectrochemical water splitting was achieved by fabricating carbon nanotube (CNT) and Co3O4 decorated hierarchical ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays via a facile stepwise synthesis strategy. The ternary CNT–ZnO–Co3O4 NW composite exhibits an increased photocurrent density (1.9 mA cm−2 at 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl, 2.7 times larger than that of the pristine ZnO NWs) and improved incident photon to current conversion efficiency (52.5% at 340 nm, 5.1 times higher than that of the pristine ZnO NWs) as a photoanode under AM 1.5G simulated sunlight. This enhancement is attributed to the specific heterogeneous ternary architecture, which results in promoted electron–hole charge separation and transfer, decreased water oxidation overpotential as well as increased reaction rates of water splitting by decorating ZnO NWs with CNTs and Co3O4.

Graphical abstract: Hierarchical nanowire arrays based on carbon nanotubes and Co3O4 decorated ZnO for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
23 Apr 2015
Accepted
19 May 2015
First published
21 May 2015

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015,3, 13731-13737

Author version available

Hierarchical nanowire arrays based on carbon nanotubes and Co3O4 decorated ZnO for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation

M. Li, K. Chang, T. Wang, L. Liu, H. Zhang, P. Li and J. Ye, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 13731 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA02901E

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