Nonepitaxial Gold‐Tipped ZnSe Hybrid Nanorods for Efficient Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Abstract

For the first time, colloidal gold (Au)–ZnSe hybrid nanorods (NRs) with controlled size and location of Au domains are synthesized and used for hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting. Au tips are found to grow on the apices of ZnSe NRs nonepitaxially to form an interface with no preference of orientation between Au(111) and ZnSe(001). Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Au tips on ZnSe hybrid NRs gain enhanced adsorption of H compared to pristine Au, which favors the hydrogen evolution reaction. Photocatalytic tests reveal that the Au tips on ZnSe NRs effectively enhance the photocatalytic performance in hydrogen generation, in which the single Au‐tipped ZnSe hybrid NRs show the highest photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of 437.8 µmol h−1 g−1 in comparison with a rate of 51.5 µmol h−1 g−1 for pristine ZnSe NRs. An apparent quantum efficiency of 1.3% for hydrogen evolution reaction for single Au‐tipped ZnSe hybrid NRs is obtained, showing the potential application of this type of cadmium (Cd)‐free metal–semiconductor hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) in solar hydrogen production. This work opens an avenue toward Cd‐free hybrid NP‐based photocatalysis for clean fuel production.

Design of p-n homojunctions in metal-free carbon nitride photocatalyst for overall water splitting

“…9(b), preparing a photocatalyst with a p-n heterojunction led to highly efficient charge collection and separation [67][68][69]. In this structure, there was an internal electric field, which could cause the photocatalyst to generate electrons and charges under very low light intensity [70][71][72]. The photogenerated electrons were transferred to the n-type CN conduction band and reduced with water to generate hydrogen.…”

One-dimensional (1D) Nanostructured Materials for Energy Applications

“…Another technique that has been used to synthesize nanorods is heat-up method. Chen and coworkers [135] The hydrogen production obtained with the Au -ZnSe hybrid nanorods was 437.8 µmol g -1 h -1 whereas the bare ZnSe obtained 49.8 µmol g -1 h -1 . This result was justified by the enhanced charge separations [135].…”

Recent advances in nanomaterial‐assisted detection coupled with capillary and microchip electrophoresis

“…QDs are the often‐used fluorescent probes in CE and ME detection. They are a family of nanocrystals made up of the II, III, VI, V group elements in the periodic table, for example, carbon‐, graphene‐, silica‐, CdS‐, CdSe‐, CdTe‐, and InP‐based QDs [21]; moreover, they can be functionalized with various ligands for specific purposes. As fluorophores, QDs can be excited over a wide wavelength range while emitting narrow, symmetric, strong luminescence that is 10–100 times higher than that of organic dyes and fluorescent proteins [22].…”