A photoelectrochemical (PEC) method based on the etching reaction of F ions on the surface of TiO2 nanorod arrays (TNRs) was proposed for the high sensitivity and selectivity detection of F ions. With the increase of F ion concentration, the surface etching reaction on TNR becomes more intense, resulting in the increased number of surface active sites, the reduction of electron transfer resistance, and the increase of photocurrent density. The prepared TNRs as a PEC probe exhibits a good linear relationship between photocurrent increment and the logarithm of F ion concentration in the range from 0.05 to 1000 nM with an ultra-trace detection limit of 0.03 nM for F ion detection.
Zhenlong Zhang,Jichun Zhu,Shengjun Li,Xiangyang Liu,Yanli Mao
In this paper, TiO 2 nanotube (TNT) arrays and (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S ( x = 0.75, 0.24, and 0.09) nanocrystals were prepared, and TiO 2 nanotubes (TNTs) were sensitized with (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S nanocrystals. Compared with the plain TNTs, (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S sensitized TNTs present an enhanced photoelectrochemical response. The photocurrent enhancement was characterized with the photocurrent ratio of (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S sensitized TNTs to plain TNTs, which were 1.50, 1.63, and 2.13 for (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S with the composition of x = 0.75, 0.24, and 0.09, respectively. To understand this phenomenon, the energy band alignments of TNTs and (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S were investigated, based on which the conduction band offsets (CBO) between TNTs and (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S were determined, which were 0.31, 0.47, and 0.63 eV for (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S with the composition of x = 0.75, 0.24, and 0.09, respectively. These results display that the photocurrent enhancement becomes large with the increase of CBO, which indicates that the enhanced photoelectrochemical response is mainly due to the energy level matching between TNTs and (Cu 2 Sn) x /3 Zn 1− x S, and the variation of enhancement is resulting from the change of CBO.
Finding a cost-effective semiconductor with commercial performance for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting remains challenging. Sb 2 Se 3 , as a low-cost semiconductor, has excellent photo/electric properties for PEC water splitting. Via adjusting the Sb/Se ratio in the precursor ink, the Sb 2 Se 3 with favorable crystallographic orientation can be effectively controlled. The ink with an atomic ratio of Sb/Se = 1:3 induces the growth of a compact Sb 2 Se 3 film with a preferred orientation, resulting in rapid charge transport and high photocurrent. After depositing TiO 2 and Pt in turn, the photocathode with a structure of FTO/Au/Sb 2 Se 3 /TiO 2 /Pt exhibits a photocurrent density of 11.3 mA cm −2 at 0 V RHE . An unassisted solar water splitting device integrating the Sb 2 Se 3 -based photocathode with an inorganic perovskite photovoltaic cell achieves a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 2.45%. The efficient Sb 2 Se 3 -based photocathode shows promising potential for solar fuel production.