Design and tailoring of patterned ZnO nanostructures for energy conversion applications

Abstract

ZnO is a typical direct wide-bandgap semiconductor material, which has various morphologies and unique physical and chemical properties, and is widely used in the fields of energy, information technology, biomedicine, and others. The precise design and controllable fabrication of nanostructures have gradually become important avenues to further enhancing the performance of ZnO-based functional nanodevices. This paper introduces the continuous development of patterning technologies, provides a comprehensive review of the optical lithography and laser interference lithography techniques for the controllable fabrication of ZnO nanostructures, and elaborates on the potential applications of such patterned ZnO nanostructures in solar energy, water splitting, light emission devices, and nanogenerators. Patterned ZnO nanostructures with highly controllable morphology and structure possess discrete three-dimensional space structure, enlarged surface area, and improved light capture ability, which realize the efficient carrier regulation, achieve highly efficient energy conversion, and meet the diverse requirements of functional nanodevices. The patterning techniques proposed for the precise design of ZnO nanostructures not only have important guiding significance for the controllable fabrication of complex nanostructures of other materials, but also open up a new route for the further development of functional nanostructures.

Optical Simulation and Investigation of the Effect of Hysteresis on the Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Other methods such as¯nite-di®erence timedomain (FDTD) can be used to understand the absorption of light that can be used to analyze the interaction of electromagnetic waves with complex structures at UV, visible, infrared, terahertz and microwave frequencies. 13,17 The dependence of hysteresis on the thickness of the layers is well established in the published studies, 18,19 and it is generally believed that this dependence should be attributed to the trap state. Because, with the increase in thickness of the perovskite layer, the grain size is increased and the density of grain boundaries decreases, which in turn reduces the trap state and hence reduces the recombination and, as a result, decreases hysteresis.…”

Emerging Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy for Metal Halide Perovskite Materials and Solar Cells

“…A variety of techniques such as I – V curve measurement, photoluminescence analysis, galvanostatic characterization, and grazing incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering measurement, have been conducted to probe the photoelectric properties of perovskite . Among them, C‐AFM demonstrates the main superiorities of high spatial resolution on microscopic scale .…”

Enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities of CdS nanowires by surface modification with MoS2 nanosheets

“…However, the low activity and rapid photocorrosion make pure CdS photocatalyst unfavorable for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) because photogenerated electron and hole pairs cannot be efficiently separated and transferred [14,15]. Loading cocatalysts on CdS to create hierarchical structures provides high activation potentials for HER and suppresses the photocorrosion of CdS [16][17][18]. For example, Pt as a cocatalyst could improve the photocatalytic HER efficiency of CdS [19].…”