Novel Aggregation-Induced Emission Materials/Cadmium Sulfide Composite Photocatalyst for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution in Absence of Sacrificial Reagent

Abstract

This work focuses on the development of a novel organic–inorganic photoactive material composited by aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIE) and CdS. Tetraphenylethene-based AIE (TPE-Ca) is synthesized on CdS to form CdS/TPE-Ca electrode, due to its suitable band structure and potential capability of renewable energy production. The CdS/TPE-Ca electrode presents over three-fold improved photocurrent density and dramatically reduced interfacial resistance, compared with the pure CdS electrode. In addition, the engineering of the band alignment allows the holes to accumulate on the valance band of TPE-Ca, which would partially prevent the CdS from photo-corrosion, thus improving the stability of the sacrificial-free electrolyte photoelectrochemical cell.

Aggregation-Induced Emission-Active Nanostructures: Beyond Biomedical Applications

“…Furthermore, the generation of fluorescent photopatterns at the nanoscale using AIEgens for improved performances in applications such as optoelectronics, photonics, sensing, and anticounterfeiting, etc., is another relevant and emerging area to further explore, given that photopatterning can lead to the manipulation of fluorescence properties or amplified fluorescence intensity and response. − On the other hand, in terms of functional materials development, the design and synthesis of AIE-active nanoporous frameworks, such as COFs and MOFs, to improve vapor sensing and optoelectronic application performances remain a hot topic for researchers to pursue. − Particularly, can the pore size of these emissive frameworks be controlled to selectively capture and sense targeted gaseous analytes, giving rise to an amplified fluorescence response? Finally, the use of AIE nanomaterials in photocatalysis for various chemical reactions can be an emerging area, particularly with recent efforts of AIEgens being used in the breakdown of organic pollutants under ambient lighting, hydrogen evolution, and photopolymerization . AIE nanomaterials may therefore be developed with greater chemical stability and photostability and tunable photophysical and electrochemical properties, which will be beneficial for these catalytic reactions.…”

“…185−188 Particularly, can the pore size of these emissive frameworks be controlled to selectively capture and sense targeted gaseous analytes, giving rise to an amplified fluorescence response? Finally, the use of AIE nanomaterials in photocatalysis for various chemical reactions can be an emerging area, particularly with recent efforts of AIEgens being used in the breakdown of organic pollutants under ambient lighting, 189 hydrogen evolution, 190 and photopolymerization. 191 AIE nanomaterials may therefore be developed with greater chemical stability and photostability and tunable photophysical and electrochemical properties, which will be beneficial for these catalytic reactions.…”

Aluminum-doped cadmium sulfide homojunction photoelectrode with optimal film quality and water-splitting performance

“…After the completion of the SILAR cycles, the FTO substrates were annealed at 400 °C for 30 min in an argon atmosphere. 19 3.3 Characterization methods 3.3.1 General. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed with the films using an Ultima IV multipurpose X-ray diffraction system (Rigaku Corporation, Japan) with a Cu Kα1 radiation source (λ = 1.541866 Å) and scanning angles from 10 to 80°( 2θ).…”

“…[10][11][12] However, CdS tends to suffer from severe photocorrosion [13][14][15] and rapid recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, [16][17][18] which seriously restrict its photocatalytic and PEC activity. To alleviate these issues, many approaches have been proposed, including (i) coating an anticorrosion layer, 19,20 (ii) doping metal ions, 21,22 and (iii) loading cocatalysts, [23][24][25] to accelerate the separation of photogenerated carriers.…”

Recent Advances in Nanoscale Engineering of Ternary Metal Sulfide-Based Heterostructures for Photocatalytic Water Splitting Applications

“…Because of the inherent shortcomings of metal sulfides, the employment of S 2– -containing or other sacrificial reagents is essential to suppress the issues of photocorrosion. The photogenerated holes of metal sulfides would be consumed by S 2– from the sacrificial reagents instead of self-oxidation, which would eventually prevent undesired anodic photocorrosion of metal sulfides. , As the cutting-edge research of HER focuses on the sacrificial-free condition, recent interest has peaked in the revolutionary modification of ZnIn 2 S 4 to realize efficient overall water splitting from pure water. This is a crucial prerequisite prior to practical and large-scale H 2 generation application.…”