Herein,
we propose the topotactic and self-templated fabrication
of Zn1–x
Cd
x
Se porous nanobelt–ZnO nanorod (termed as ZnCdSe/ZnO) photoelectrode
via the cadmium (Cd2+) ion-exchange process on zinc (Zn)
foil. Inorganic–organic hybrid ZnSe(en)0.5 nanobelt
(NB) was synthesized on Zn foil by a facial solvothermal method at
different temperatures of 140, 160, and 180 °C for 12 h. The
interfacial properties and photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance
of inorganic–organic ZnSe(en)0.5 NB fabricated through
the Cd2+ ion-exchange method at different time durations
of 6, 12, 18, and 24 h at 140 °C were investigated. The TEM analysis
results indicate that the inorganic–organic ZnSe(en)0.5 NB transformed into ZnCdSe and a self-assembled ZnO formed on the
Zn foil. In particular Cd2+ ion temperature (140 °C/18
h), the optimized ZnCdSe/ZnO-(F) photoelectrode shows an excellent
photocurrent density of 14 mA·cm–2 at 0 V
vs Ag/AgCl with 219 μmol·cm–2 hydrogen
gas evolution for 3 h under 1 sun illumination. The higher photocurrent
value resulted from the optimum growth of ZnO, the formation of porous
ZnCdSe, and the effective electrolyte penetration for electron–hole
pair separation. The photoluminescence spectroscopy shows that the
photoexcited charged carriers promoted a longer lifetime. Furthermore,
we provide a full account of the possible charge-transfer mechanism
during PEC hydrogen production.