One-dimensional colloidal semiconductor nanowires are of wide interest in nanoscale electronics and photonics. As compared to the zero-dimensional counterparts, their geometrical anisotropy offers an additional degree of freedom to tailor the electronic and optical properties and enables customized heterostructures with increased complexity. The colloidal synthetic chemistry developed over past decades has fueled the emergence of diverse one-dimensional nanocrystals and heterostructures, whereas the synthetic pursuit for compositionally and structurally defining them at the atomic-level precision remains yet a giant challenge. Catalyzed growth, wherein nanowires grow at the catalyst-nanowire interfaces in a layer-by-layer manner, offers a promising path toward such an ultimate goal. In this Perspective, we will take a close look at how catalyzed growth would enable the on-demand, atomic-precision control of colloidal nanowires and their heterostructures. We then further highlight their potentials for constructing higher-order heteroarchitectures with new and/or enhanced performances. Finally, we conclude with a forward-looking perspective on future challenges.
Maximizing hole‐transfer kinetics—usually a rate‐determining step in semiconductor‐based artificial photosynthesis—is pivotal for simultaneously enabling high‐efficiency solar hydrogen production and hole utilization. However, this remains elusive yet as efforts are largely focused on optimizing the electron‐involved half‐reactions only by empirically employing sacrificial electron donors (SEDs) to consume the wasted holes. Using high‐quality ZnSe quantum wires as models, we show that how hole‐transfer processes in different SEDs affect their photocatalytic performances. We found that larger driving forces of SEDs monotonically enhance hole‐transfer rates and photocatalytic performances by almost three orders of magnitude, a result conforming well with the Auger‐assisted hole‐transfer model in quantum‐confined systems. Intriguingly, further loading Pt cocatalyts can yield either an Auger‐assisted model or a Marcus inverted region for electron transfer, depending on the competing hole‐transfer kinetics in SEDs.
Maximizing hole-transfer kinetics-usually a rate-determining step in semiconductor-based artificial photosynthesis-is pivotal for simultaneously enabling high-efficiency solar hydrogen production and hole utilization. However, this remains elusive yet as efforts are largely focused on optimizing the electron-involved half-reactions only by empirically employing sacrificial electron donors (SEDs) to consume the wasted holes. Using high-quality ZnSe quantum wires as models, we show that how hole-transfer processes in different SEDs affect their photocatalytic performances. We found that larger driving forces of SEDs monotonically enhance hole-transfer rates and photocatalytic performances by almost three orders of magnitude, a result conforming well with the Auger-assisted hole-transfer model in quantum-confined systems. Intriguingly, further loading Pt cocatalyts can yield either an Auger-assisted model or a Marcus inverted region for electron transfer, depending on the competing hole-transfer kinetics in SEDs.
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