Introducing a zinc stannate, ZnSnO3 (ZTO), layer on
hydrothermally grown 3D-zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheet thin films has
been proven to have a quenching effect on the photoluminescence emissions,
indicating very slow recombination of photoinduced electron–hole
pairs in photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC) reactions. Motivated
by this, the ZnO/ZTO bilayer system has been used as the electron
transport layer for copper indium gallium sulfide (CIGS)-based photoelectrodes
in PEC applications. Furthermore, the poor photoresistivity of CIGS
has been improved via indium sulfide (In2S3)
deposition. Consequently, the photoelectrode obtained from the inverted
configuration, ZnO/ZTO/CIGS/In2S3, has generated
a photocurrent density of 6.4 mA cm–2 at 0.4 V (vs
Ag/AgCl), exceeding the performance of ZnO NS/CIGS/In2S3 photoelectrodes by three folds. The highest ABPE and IPCE
efficiencies have been calculated as 4.2% and 57%, respectively. More
importantly, two cost-effective nonvacuum techniques for large-scale
thin film fabrications such as chemical bath deposition (CBD) and
ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) methods have been adopted to acquire
photoelectrodes with inverted configurations providing an advantageous
approach for low-cost photoelectrode design for sustainable energy
production.
In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) powders in two different morphologies, nanowire (NW) and nanoflower (NF), have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The eligibility of the pristine ZnO nanopowders as a photo-active material has been revealed by designing P-SC devices via the facile drop-casting method on both glass and plastic substrates in large-area applications. The impact of physical properties and especially defect structures on photo-supercapacitor (P-SC) performance have been explored. Although the dark Coulombic efficiency (CE%) of both NW and NF-based P-SC were very close to each other, the CE% of NW P-SC increased 3 times, while the CE% of NF P-SC increased 1.7 times under the UV-light. This is because the charge carriers produced under light excitation, extend the discharge time, and as confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance, photoluminescence, and transmission electron microscopy analyses, the performance of P-SCs made from NF powders was relatively low compared to those produced from NW due to the high core defects in NF powders. The energy density of 78.1 mWh kg−1 obtained for NF-based P-SCs is very promising, and the capacitance retention value of almost 100% for 3000 cycles showed that the P-SCs produced from these materials were entirely stable. Compared to the literature, the P-SCs we propose in this study are essential for new generation energy storage systems, thanks to their ease of design, adaptability to mass production for large-area applications, and their ability to store more energy under illumination.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.