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Lee HC, Park JH, In SI, Yang J. Recent advances in photoelectrochemical hydrogen production using I-III-VI quantum dots. NANOSCALE 2024. [PMID: 38683106 DOI: 10.1039/d4nr01040j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, recognized for its potential in producing solar hydrogen through clean and sustainable methods, has gained considerable interest, particularly with the utilization of semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs). This minireview focuses on recent advances in PEC hydrogen production using I-III-VI semiconductor QDs. The outstanding optical and electrical properties of I-III-VI QDs, which can be readily tuned by modifying their size, composition, and shape, along with an inherent non-toxic nature, make them highly promising for PEC applications. The performance of PEC devices using these QDs can be enhanced by various strategies, including ligand modification, defect engineering, doping, alloying, and core/shell heterostructure engineering. These approaches have notably improved the photocurrent densities for hydrogen production, achieving levels comparable to those of conventional heavy-metal-based counterparts. Finally, this review concludes by addressing the present challenges and future prospects of these QDs, underlining crucial steps for their practical applications in solar hydrogen production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyo Cheol Lee
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.
| | - Ji Hye Park
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.
| | - Su-Il In
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.
- Energy Science and Engineering Research Center, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiwoong Yang
- Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea.
- Energy Science and Engineering Research Center, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 42988, Republic of Korea
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Jin L, Liu J, Liu X, Benetti D, Selopal GS, Tong X, Hamzehpoor E, Li F, Perepichka DF, Wang ZM, Rosei F. Rational Control of Near-Infrared Colloidal Thick-Shell Eco-Friendly Quantum Dots for Solar Energy Conversion. SMALL METHODS 2024; 8:e2300133. [PMID: 37075734 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202300133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Thick-shell colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are promising building blocks for solar technologies due to their size/composition/shape-tunable properties. However, most well-performed thick-shell QDs suffer from frequent use of toxic metal elements including Pb and Cd, and inadequate light absorption in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region due to the wide bandgap of the shell. In this work, eco-friendly AgInSe2 /AgInS2 core/shell QDs, which are optically active in the NIR region and are suitable candidates to fabricate devices for solar energy conversion, are developed. Direct synthesis suffers from simultaneously controlling the reactivity of multiple precursors, instead, a template-assisted cation exchange method is used. By modulating the monolayer growth of template QDs, gradient AgInSeS shell layers are incorporated into AgInSe2 /AgInS2 QDs. The resulting AgInSe2 /AgInSeS/AgInS2 exhibits better charge transfer than AgInSe2 /AgInS2 due to their favorable electronic band alignment, as predicted by first-principle calculations and confirmed by transient fluorescence spectroscopy. The photoelectrochemical cells fabricated with AgInSe2 /AgInSeS/AgInS2 QDs present ≈1.5-fold higher current density and better stability compared to AgInSe2 /AgInS2 . The findings define a promising approach toward multinary QDs and pave the way for engineering the QDs' electronic band structures for solar-energy conversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Jin
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Jiabin Liu
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
| | - Xin Liu
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
| | - Daniele Benetti
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Gurpreet Singh Selopal
- Department of Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada
| | - Xin Tong
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China
| | - Ehsan Hamzehpoor
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Faying Li
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
| | - Dmytro F Perepichka
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0B8, Canada
| | - Zhiming M Wang
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610106, P. R. China
| | - Federico Rosei
- Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, 1650 Boul. Lionel-Boulet, Varennes, Quebec, J3X 1P7, Canada
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Cai M, Tong X, Zhao H, Li X, You Y, Wang R, Xia L, Zhou N, Wang L, Wang ZM. Ligand-Engineered Quantum Dots Decorated Heterojunction Photoelectrodes for Self-Biased Solar Water Splitting. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2204495. [PMID: 36148833 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202204495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A cost-effective and high-efficiency photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting system based on colloidal quantum dots (QDs) represents a potential solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion technology to achieve future carbon neutrality. Herein, a self-biased PEC cell consisting of BiVO4 photoanode and Cu2 O photocathode both decorated with Zn-doped CuInS2 (ZCIS) QDs is successfully fabricated. The intrinsic charge dynamics of the photoelectrodes are efficiently optimized via rational engineering of the surface ligands capped on QDs with controllable chain lengths and binding affinities to the metal oxide electrodes. It is demonstrated that the short-chain monodentate 1-dodecanethiol ligands are beneficial to ZCIS QDs for suppressing charge recombination, which enables the construction of tight heterojunction with coupled metal oxide electrodes, leading to effective photo-induced charge transfer/injection for enhanced PEC performance. The QD decorated BiVO4 and Cu2 O photoelectrodes in pairs demonstrate a self-biased PEC water splitting process, delivering an STH efficiency of 0.65% with excellent stability under AM 1.5 G one-sun illumination. The results highlight the significance of synergistic ligand and heterojunction engineering to build highly efficient and robust QDs-based PEC devices for self-biased solar water splitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengke Cai
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
- Yangtze Delta Region Institute (Huzhou), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Huzhou, 313001, China
| | - Xin Tong
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
- Yangtze Delta Region Institute (Huzhou), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Huzhou, 313001, China
| | - Hongyang Zhao
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Xin Li
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Yimin You
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Rui Wang
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Li Xia
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Nan Zhou
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
| | - Lianzhou Wang
- Nanomaterials Centre, School of Chemical Engineering and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Zhiming M Wang
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China
- Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China
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