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A 3C-SiC/NiO p–n heterojunction photoanode exhibits a substantially improved photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance in terms of photocurrent, onset potential and fill-factor.

Self-powered photodetectors working in solar-blind region (below 280 nm) have attracted growing attention due to their wide applicability. Monoclinic Ga 2 O 3 (β-Ga 2 O 3) with excellent merits and a wide bandgap (4.9 eV) is regarded as a good candidate for solar-blind photodetector application. Self-powered photodetectors generally based on homo/heterojunction suffer from a complex fabrication process and slow photoresponse because of the interface defects and traps. Herein, we demonstrated a fabrication and characterization of a self-powered metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) deep-ultraviolet (DUV) photodetector based on single crystal β-Ga 2 O 3. The self-powered property was realized through a simple one-step deposition of an asymmetrical pair of Schottky interdigital contacts. The photocurrent and responsivity increase with the degenerating symmetrical contact. For the device with the most asymmetric interdigital contacts operated at 0 V bias, the maximum photocurrent reaches 2.7 nA. The responsivity R λ , external quantum efficiency EQE, detectivity D*, and linear dynamic range LDR are 1.28 mA/W, 0.63, 1.77 × 10 11 Jones, and 23.5 dB, respectively. The device exhibits excellent repeatability and stability at the same time. Besides, the device presents a fast response speed with a rise time of 0.03 s and a decay time of 0.08 s. All these results indicate a promising and simple method to fabricate a zeropowered DUV photodetector.

Thermal diffusion of nitrogen into ZnO film deposited on InN/sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition Unintentional doping and compensation effects of carbon in metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition fabricated ZnO thin films

Engineering tunable graphene–semiconductor interfaces while simultaneously preserving the superior properties of graphene is critical to graphene-based devices for electronic, optoelectronic, biomedical, and photoelectrochemical applications. Here, we demonstrate this challenge can be surmounted by constructing an interesting atomic Schottky junction via epitaxial growth of high-quality and uniform graphene on cubic SiC (3C-SiC). By tailoring the graphene layers, the junction structure described herein exhibits an atomic-scale tunable Schottky junction with an inherent built-in electric field, making it a perfect prototype to systematically comprehend interfacial electronic properties and transport mechanisms. As a proof-of-concept study, the atomic-scale-tuned Schottky junction is demonstrated to promote both the separation and transport of charge carriers in a typical photoelectrochemical system for solar-to-fuel conversion under low bias. Simultaneously, the as-grown monolayer graphene with an extremely high conductivity protects the surface of 3C-SiC from photocorrosion and energetically delivers charge carriers to the loaded cocatalyst, achieving a synergetic enhancement of the catalytic stability and efficiency.

Solar water splitting based on semiconductor photoelectrodes is a promising route to convert solar energy into renewable hydrogen fuel. Since the pioneering work of photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems in 1972, a large variety of semiconductors such as oxides, sulfides, phosphides, and silicon have been studied in the context of PEC water splitting configuration. Among them, silicon carbide (SiC) exhibits an excellent energy band structure that straddles the water redox potentials. In particular, cubic SiC (3C‐SiC), with a suitable bandgap of 2.36 eV, is favorable for visible sunlight absorption. Recently, 3C‐SiC has attracted much interest in PEC water splitting. In this review, the progress, challenges, and prospects of using SiC for PEC water splitting are summarized.