Three-dimensional type II ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures and their visible light photocatalytic activities

Unlocking a Type-II CoO@BiVO4 Heterostructure for Wastewater Purification

Developing a semiconductor-based heterostructure photoanode is crucial in improving the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) efficiency for degrading refractory organic pollutants. Nevertheless, the PEC performance of the photoanodes is usually restricted by electron/hole pair recombination, oxygen evolution, and slow electron transfer. Herein, a novel CoO@BiVO4 nanowire array film (Ti/CoO@BiVO4) with n-type semiconductor characteristics was prepared via a straightforward hydrothermal method. The optimized Ti/CoO@BiVO4 electrode exhibited excellent PEC decolorization efficiency of active brilliant blue KN-R (∼92.8%) and long-term stability, outperforming recent reports. The insight reason for enhancing the PEC degradation efficiency of the Ti/CoO@BiVO4 electrodes can be attributed to the large electrochemical active area, low charge transfer resistance, and negative flat band potential. The formation of a type-II heterostructure was investigated between CoO and BiVO4 further to promote the generation and separation efficiency of electron/hole pairs, indicating that the optimized Ti/CoO@BiVO4 electrode has the potential for the water PEC degradation ability and superior service life.

Recent Advances, Challenges, and Future Perspectives of ZnO Nanostructure Materials Towards Energy Applications

In this approach, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a multipurpose substance with remarkable characteristics such as high sensitivity, a large specific area, non-toxicity, excellent compatibility, and a high isoelectric point, which make it attractive for discussion with some limitations. It is the most favorable possible option for the collection of nanostructures in terms of structure and their characteristics. The development of numerous ZnO nanostructure-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors used in health diagnosis, pharmaceutical evaluation, food hygiene, and contamination of the environment monitoring is described, as well as the production of ZnO nanostructures. Nanostructured ZnO has good chemical and temperature durability as an n-type semiconducting material, making it useful in a wide range of uses, from luminous materials to supercapacitors, batteries, solar cells, photocatalysis, biosensors, medicinal devices, and more. When compared to the bulk materials, the nanosized materials have both a higher rate of disintegration and a higher solubility. Furthermore, ZnO nanoparticles are regarded as top contenders for electrochemical sensors due to their strong electrochemical behaviors and electron transmission characteristics. The impact of many factors, including selectivity, sensitivity, detection limit, strength, and structures, arrangements, and their respective functioning processes, has been investigated. This study concentrated a substantial amount of its attention on the recent advancements that have been made in ZnO-based nanoparticles, composites, and modified materials for use in the application areas of energy storage and conversion devices as well as biological applications. Supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, photocatalysis, biosensors, medicinal, and biological systems have been studied. ZnO-based materials are constantly analyzed for their advantages in energy and life science applications.

Facile Preparation of the ZnSe/Ag2Se Binary Heterojunction for Photocatalytic Antibacterial Efficiency

In a novel approach that capitalized on the differential solubility product (Ksp) of ZnSe and Ag2Se, a unique ZnSe/Ag2Se binary heterostructure was efficiently synthesized in situ. ZnSe/Ag2Se exhibited excellent antimicrobial efficiency under visible light. Incorporating Ag2Se into ZnSe significantly enhanced the photoelectric performance of the catalyst, greatly accelerating the separation of the photogenerated electrons in the system. Active species removal experiments determined that ·O2- and H2O2 played crucial roles in photocatalytic antibacterial efficiency. Further investigation into the levels of cellular membrane peroxidation, bacterial morphology, and intracellular contents concentration revealed that during the photocatalytic antimicrobial process, reactive oxygen species initially oxidize phospholipids in the cell membrane, leading to damage to the external structure of the cell and leakage of the intracellular contents, ultimately resulting in bacteria inactivation. The photocatalytic antimicrobial process of ZnSe/Ag2Se fundamentally deviates from conventional methods, offering new insights into efficient disinfection and photocatalytic antimicrobial mechanisms.

Growth Mechanism of Sea Urchin ZnO Nanostructures in Aqueous Solutions and Their Photocatalytic Activity for the Degradation of Organic Dyes

This work reports the development of a fast and simple route for the synthesis of ZnO sea urchin (SU) nanostructures by the formation and assembly of ZnO nanorods under favorable growth conditions in an aqueous solution. The thermal treatment of a basic zinc acetate solution in ethanol results in the formation of aggregated seed clusters consisting of small ZnO nanorods, which were then grown in a precursor solution containing Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O and hexamethylenetetramine to assemble the SU structures from the anisotropic ZnO nanorods on the surface of the seed clusters. Each ZnO nanoparticle in the aggregated seed clusters grew sequentially into a ZnO nanorod, and the nanorods were concentric to the core of the clusters yielding the unique SU-like shape. In the presence of a capping agent such as cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), the aggregated seed clusters were not formed, and the growth of the CTAB-capped ZnO nanorods resulted in separated rods with average aspect ratios of ∼10. The SU ZnO nanostructures exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure and higher specific surface area (26.9 m²/g) than the CTAB-capped nanorods (17.7 m²/g). The SU ZnO nanostructures show superior photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of three common organic dyes compared to the ZnO nanorods. The removal efficiencies of indigo carmine, methylene blue, and rhodamine B by the SU nanostructures were 99, 86, and 96%, respectively, after 1 h of UV irradiation. Therefore, the ZnO SU structures have the potential to be a versatile photocatalyst for the photodegradation of organic dyes in industrial wastewater.

Chemical Sensing Applications of ZnO Nanomaterials

Recent advancement in nanoscience and nanotechnology has witnessed numerous triumphs of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials due to their various exotic and multifunctional properties and wide applications. As a remarkable and functional material, ZnO has attracted extensive scientific and technological attention, as it combines different properties such as high specific surface area, biocompatibility, electrochemical activities, chemical and photochemical stability, high-electron communicating features, non-toxicity, ease of syntheses, and so on. Because of its various interesting properties, ZnO nanomaterials have been used for various applications ranging from electronics to optoelectronics, sensing to biomedical and environmental applications. Further, due to the high electrochemical activities and electron communication features, ZnO nanomaterials are considered as excellent candidates for electrochemical sensors. The present review meticulously introduces the current advancements of ZnO nanomaterial-based chemical sensors. Various operational factors such as the effect of size, morphologies, compositions and their respective working mechanisms along with the selectivity, sensitivity, detection limit, stability, etc., are discussed in this article.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of chrysanthemum-like Ag/ZnO prismatic nanorods and their photocatalytic properties with multiple modes for dye degradation and hydrogen production

A series of Ag/ZnO composites were prepared by microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. Their composition, structure, and morphology were well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis/DRS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and N₂ adsorption–desorption analyses. The results showed that the microwave-assisted synthesis method did not significantly alter the crystal structure of the composites. However, light absorption by the composite was clearly enhanced, its Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area values changed, and excellent surface morphology was observed. Moreover, the Ag/ZnO composite formed via microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis exhibited more regular stacking piled into a chrysanthemum-like structure. Under ultraviolet, visible-light, simulated sunlight, and microwave-assisted irradiation, the composite exhibited better photocatalytic properties for the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B compared to that of P25 and ZnO. Moreover, the composite was investigated as a catalyst for the degradation of four dyes with different structures under UV conditions, exhibiting good degradation performance. Furthermore, the degradation efficiency did not change significantly after three cycles, indicating a certain degree of stability. In addition, the photocatalytic hydrogen production experiments showed that the nanocomposite Ag/ZnO had some ability to produce photocatalytic hydrogen.

A series of chrysanthemum-like composites Ag/ZnO were prepared by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis, which well showed the ability of photocatalytic degradation of dyes and hydrogen production.

Heterojunction Photocatalysts

Semiconductor-based photocatalysis attracts wide attention because of its ability to directly utilize solar energy for production of solar fuels, such as hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels and for degradation of various pollutants. However, the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions remains low due to the fast electron-hole recombination and low light utilization. Therefore, enormous efforts have been undertaken to solve these problems. Particularly, properly engineered heterojunction photocatalysts are shown to be able to possess higher photocatalytic activity because of spatial separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Here, the basic principles of various heterojunction photocatalysts are systematically discussed. Recent efforts toward the development of heterojunction photocatalysts for various photocatalytic applications are also presented and appraised. Finally, a brief summary and perspectives on the challenges and future directions in the area of heterojunction photocatalysts are also provided.

Selectivity of quantum dot sensitized ZnO nanotube arrays for improved photocatalytic activity

QD-sensitized ZnO heterostructures with different kinds and cycles of QDs exhibit different photocatalytic activity and the selectivity of the best QDs sensitizing ZnO for high photocatalytic activity is realized.

Synthesis and excellent visible light photocatalysis performance of magnetic reduced graphene oxide/ZnO/ZnFe2O4 composites

The partial photogenerated electrons from conduction band of ZnFe₂O₄ are transferred to the conduction band of ZnO, oppositely, the photogenerated holes lefted in the valance band of ZnFe₂O₄. The ternary composite has high photocatalytic activity.

ZnO@CdS Core-Shell Heterostructures: Fabrication, Enhanced Photocatalytic, and Photoelectrochemical Performance

ZnO nanorods and ZnO@CdS heterostructures have been fabricated on carbon fiber cloth substrates via hydrothermal and electrochemical deposition. Their photocatalytic properties were investigated by measuring the degradation of methylene blue under ultraviolet light irradiation. The result illustrated that the photodegradation efficiency of ZnO@CdS heterostructures was better than that of pure ZnO nanorods, in which the rate constants were about 0.04629 and 0.02617 min(-1). Furthermore, the photocurrent of ZnO@CdS heterostructures achieved 10(2) times enhancement than pure ZnO nanorods, indicating that more free carriers could be generated and transferred in ZnO@CdS heterostructures, which could be responsible for the increased photocatalytic performance.

Growth of Hydrothermally Derived CdS-Based Nanostructures with Various Crystal Features and Photoactivated Properties

CdS crystallites with rod- and flower-like architectures were synthesized using a facile hydrothermal growth method. The hexagonal crystal structure of CdS dominated the growth mechanisms of the rod- and flower-like crystallites under specific growth conditions, as indicated by structural analyses. The flower-like CdS crystallites had a higher crystal defect density and lower optical band gap value compared with the rod-like CdS crystallites. The substantial differences in microstructures and optical properties between the rod- and flower-like CdS crystallites revealed that the flower-like CdS crystallites exhibited superior photoactivity, and this performance could be further enhanced through appropriate thermal annealing in ambient air. A postannealing procedure conducted in ambient air oxidized the surfaces of the flower-like CdS crystallites and formed a CdO phase. The formation of heterointerfaces between the CdS and CdO phases mainly contributed to the improved photoactivity of the synthesized flower-like CdS crystallites.

Novel room temperature synthesis of ZnO nanosheets, characterization and potentials in light harvesting applications and electrochemical devices

Zinc oxide nanosheets (ZnONSs) were successfully synthesized using Zn(NO3)2·4H2O as the starting reagent in ammonia atmosphere at room temperature by a novel gas-solution precipitation method. XRD and EDS patterns indicated that pure ZnONSs were produced only in 15min reaction time. Besides, investigating the optical properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanosheets using UV-Vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) exhibited their semiconducting property by revealing one optical band gap in 3.3eV. Moreover, rhodamine B and methylene blue degradation were used as a probe reaction to test the as-synthesized ZnONSs photoactivity. Furthermore, a possible reaction mechanism for ZnONSs formation was discussed. On the other hand, operation of ZnONSs in Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) was investigated by current density-voltage (Jsc-Voc) curve. Finally, a pencil graphite electrode was decorated using ZnONSs and pure MWCNT to provide an electrochemical device for Pb(+2) ions sensing. This modified electrode showed agreeable responses to trace amounts of Pb(+2) in NaOAC/HOAC buffer solutions. The limit of detection was found to be 0.112nmolL(-1) for Pb(+2).

In situ formation of a ZnO/ZnSe nanonail array as a photoelectrode for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance

In this study, a ZnO/ZnSe nanonail array was prepared via a two-step sequential hydrothermal synthetic route. In this synthetic process, the ZnO nanorod array was first grown on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate using a seed-mediated growth approach via the hydrothermal process. Then, the ZnO nanonail array was obtained via in situ growth of ZnSe nano caps onto the ZnO nanorod array via a hydrothermal process in the presence of a Se source. The surface morphology and amount of ZnSe grown on the surface of the ZnO nanorods can be regulated by varying the reaction time and reactant concentration. Compared with pure ZnO nanorods, this unique nanonail array heterostructure exhibits enhanced visible light absorption. The transient photocurrent condition, in combination with steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, reveals that the ZnO/ZnSe nanonail array electrode has the highest charge separation rate, highest electron injection efficiency, and highest chemical stability. The photocurrent density of the ZnO/ZnSe nanonail array heterostructure reaches 1.01 mA cm(-2) at an applied potential of 0.1 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), which is much higher than that of the ZnO/ZnSe nanorod array (0.71 mA cm(-2)), the pristine ZnO nanorod array (0.39 mA cm(-2)), and the ZnSe electrode (0.21 mA cm(-2)), indicating its significant visible light driven activities for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. This unique morphology of nail-capped nanorods might be important for providing better insight into the correlation between heterostructure and photoelectrochemical activity.

Solar Hydrogen Production from Zinc Telluride Photocathode Modified with Carbon and Molybdenum Sulfide

A zinc telluride (ZnTe) film modified with MoS2 and carbon has been studied as a new photocathode for solar hydrogen production from photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The modification enhances PEC activity and stability of the photocathode. Thus, the MoS2/C/ZnTe/ZnO electrode exhibits highly improved activity of -1.48 mA cm(-2) at 0 VRHE with a positively shifted onset potential up to 0.3 VRHE relative to bare ZnO/ZnTe electrode (-0.19 mA cm(-2), 0.18 VRHE) under the simulated 1 sun illumination. This represents the highest value ever reported for ZnTe-based electrodes in PEC water splitting. The carbon densely covers the surface of ZnTe to protect it against photocorrosion in aqueous electrolyte and improves charge separation. In addition, MoS2 further enhances the PEC performance as a hydrogen evolution co-catalyst.

Synthesis of urchin-like Fe3O4@SiO2@ZnO/CdS core–shell microspheres for the repeated photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B under visible light

Magnetically retrievable Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@ZnO/CdS microspheres with a well-designed core–shell structure and excellent visible-irradiation photocatalytic performance were successfully synthesized.

Optimized design of multi-shell ZnO/TiO2/ZnSe nanowires decorated with Ag nanoparticles for photocatalytic applications

The photocatalytic activity of ZnO/TiO₂/Ag/ZnSe nanowires was significantly enhanced under light irradiation compared with that of ZnO/TiO₂/ZnSe/Ag nanowires.

Multi-band luminescent ZnO/ZnSe core/shell nanorods and their temperature-dependent photoluminescence

Aligned heterostructured ZnO/ZnSe core/shell nanorods are capable of emitting multi-band luminescence which shows a strong temperature dependence.

Low temperature solution processed ZnO/CuO heterojunction photocatalyst for visible light induced photo-degradation of organic pollutants

Morphology controlled hierarchical ZnO/CuO architecture was obtained on both flexible and rigid substrates, which exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance by virtue of favourable heterojunction formation at nanostructure interfaces.

Fabrication of hierarchical ZnO/CdS heterostructured nanocomposites for enhanced hydrogen evolution from solar water splitting

The morphology of the host matrix ZnO helped in forming intimately mixed ZnO/CdS composites with enhanced hydrogen evolution efficiency and photostability.

Fabrication of Bi2Sn2O7-ZnO heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic activity

A new Bi₂Sn₂O₇-ZnO heterojunction has been fabricated. The formation mechanism and the electron–hole separation process of the BSO-ZnO heterojunction are proposed.

Surface engineering of ZnO nanostructures for semiconductor-sensitized solar cells

Semiconductor-sensitized solar cells (SSCs) are emerging as promising devices for achieving efficient and low-cost solar-energy conversion. The recent progress in the development of ZnO-nanostructure-based SSCs is reviewed here, and the key issues for their efficiency improvement, such as enhancing light harvesting and increasing carrier generation, separation, and collection, are highlighted from aspects of surface-engineering techniques. The impact of other factors such as electrolyte and counter electrodes on the photovoltaic performance is also addressed. The current challenges and perspectives for the further advance of ZnO-based SSCs are discussed.

pH-dependent assembly of tungsten oxide three-dimensional architectures and their application in photocatalysis

In this work, tungsten oxide (WO3) with three-dimensional flower-like and wheel-like architectures, based on the spontaneous aggregation of one-dimensional nanorods, were successfully fabricated by adjusting the pH of the precursor solution. The influence of pH on the morphologies of WO3 was systematically studied, and the different WO3 architectures were used to photocatalytically degrade rhodamine B. The kinetic features of photoinduced charges of as-prepared WO3 have been investigated by surface photovoltage spectroscopy and transient photovoltage techniques in detail. WO3 with wheel-like and flower-like structures possess the higher charge separation efficiency and the lower recombination rate of photoinduced charges, resulting in higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of RhB.

Synthesis of hierarchically structured ZnO nanomaterials via a supercritical assisted solvothermal process

Hierarchically structured ZnO nanomaterials with flower-sheet-particle morphologies were synthesized via a supercritical assisted solvothermal process free from any other auxiliary chemicals.

Controllable growth of ZnO–ZnSe heterostructures for visible-light photocatalysis

ZnO–ZnSe heterostructures for visible-light photocatalysis are fabricated via a two-step CVD process.

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of quantum-dot-sensitized one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorod photocatalyst

An efficient photocatalyst was fabricated by assembling quantum dots (QDs) onto one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods, and the photocatalytic properties for Methyl Orange degradation were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The results indicate that the catalyst with assembled QDs is more favorable for the degradation than the pristine ZnO nanorods. The QDs with core-shell structure lower the photocatalytic ability due to the higher carrier transport barrier of the ZnS shell layer. Besides its degradation efficiency, the photocatalyst has several advantages given that the one-dimensionally-ordered ZnO nanorods have been grown directly on indium tin oxide substrates. The article provides a new method to design an effective and easily recyclable photocatalyst.

Visible light driven type II heterostructures and their enhanced photocatalysis properties: a review

Considerable efforts have been devoted to enhancing the photocatalytic activity and solar energy utilization of photocatalysts. The fabrication of type II heterostructures plays an important role in photocatalysts modification and has been extensively studied. In this review, we briefly trace the application of type II heterostructured semiconductors in the area of environmental remediation and water splitting, summarize major fabrication methods, describe some of the progress and resulting achievements, and discuss the future prospects. The scope of this review covers a variety of type II heterostructures, focusing particularly on TiO2 and ZnO based visible light driven type II 0D and 1D heterostructured photocatalysts. Some other low dimensional nanomaterials which have shown high-performance photocatalysis are also presented. We expect this review to provide a guideline for readers to gain a clear picture of fabrication and application of type II heterostructures.

Facile one-step synthesis and transformation of Cu(I)-doped zinc sulfide nanocrystals to Cu(1.94)S-ZnS heterostructured nanocrystals

A facile one-pot heating process without any injection has been developed to synthesize different Cu-Zn-S-based nanocrystals. The composition of the products evolves from Cu(I)-doped ZnS (ZnS:Cu(I)) nanocrystals into heterostructured nanocrystals consisting of monoclinic Cu1.94S and wurtzite ZnS just by controlling the molar ratios of zinc acetylacetonate (Zn(acac)2) to copper acetylacetonate (Cu(acac)2) in the mixture of n-dodecanethiol (DDT) and 1-octadecene (ODE). Accompanying the composition transformation, the crystal phase of ZnS is changed from cubic zinc blende to hexagonal wurtzite. Depending on the synthetic parameters including the reaction time, temperature, and the feeding ratios of Zn/Cu precursors, the morphology of the as-obtained heterostructured nanocrystals can be controlled in the forms of taper-like, matchstick-like, tadpole-like, or rod-like. Interestingly, when the molar ratio of Cu(acac)2 to Zn(acac)2 is increased to 9:1, the crystal phase of the products is transformed from monoclinic Cu1.94S to the mixed phase composed of cubic Cu1.8S and tetragonal Cu1.81S as the reaction time is further prolonged. The crystal-phase transformation results in the morphological change from quasi-spherical to rice shape due to the incorporation of Zn ions into the Cu1.94S matrix. This method provides a simple but highly reproducible approach for synthesis of Cu(I)-doped nanocrystals and heterostructured nanocrystals, which are potentially useful in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices.

Synthesis of Au-decorated tripod-shaped Te hybrids for applications in the ultrasensitive detection of arsenic

Novel Au-decorated Te hybrids with a tripod-shaped planar microstructure were prepared through a two-step hydrothermal process: the synthesis of Te single crystals and the subsequent self-sacrificial reaction of Te template with HAuCl4. Based on the influences of reaction temperature and solvent compositions on the as-obtained microstructures, a plausible mechanism was proposed to account for the formation of the tripod-shaped Te and Au/Te crystals. The as-prepared Au/Te hybrids have the sensitivity of 6.35 μA/ppb in the electrochemical detection of As(III), which represents the highest sensitivity reported in literature. The Au/Te sensor also has a low detection limit of 0.0026 ppb and could work in complex mixtures containing As(III), Cu(II) and other heavy metal ions, exhibiting excellent selectivity on As(III) and Cu(II) ions. The enhanced electrocatalytic property may be attributed to the synergetic interactions between the noble metal and semiconductor and the presence of a large number of active sites on the hybrids surface.

Type-II nanorod heterostructure formation through one-step cation exchange

A novel one-step cation exchange approach has been developed to prepare ZnO-decorated ZnSe nanorods (ZnSe-ZnO NRs), a prototype type-II semiconductor nanoheterostructure. Because of the staggered band offset which promoted effective charge separation, the as-synthesized ZnSe-ZnO NRs exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activities under visible light illumination, demonstrating their promising potentials in relevant photoconversion applications.