Effect of low-temperature solvothermal route on controlled growth mechanism of Se rich-ZnSe(en)0.5 templates for ZnO NR-Zn1-xCdxSe photoelectrodes

A novel inorganic-organic Se rich-ZnSe(en)(0.5) red-brick (ZnSe(en)(0.5) RB) was developed on Zinc (Zn) foil through a low-temperature solvothermal synthesis. The structure evolution and growth mechanism of ZnSe(en)(0.5) RB were systematically proposed at 80 degrees C by varying the solvothermal times (2-12 h) . In the reaction system, adsorption of reduced Se2- in presence of ethylenediamine ((en)(0.5)) induced the red-brick (RB) color to ZnSe (en)(0.5). Furthermore, Cd2+ ion-exchange strategy was adopted for converting ZnSe(en)(0.5) RB into dual nanoarchitecture photoelectrode (ZnO-Zn1-xCdxSe). The optimum ZnO NR-Zn1-xCdxSe NP 160 photoelectrode converted from ZnSe(en)(0.5) RB-12 exhibited a photocurrent density of 13.14 mA.cm(-2) at -0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl with 237.79 mu mol.cm(-2) hydrogen evolution over 3 h. The enhanced photocurrent performance was due to the effective light absorption, and the prolonged recombination lifetime. The charge separation and transport mechanisms during photoelectrochemical hydrogen production were also investigated in detail.

Automated summary

A novel inorganic-organic Se rich-ZnSe(en)(0.5) red-brick (ZnSe(en)(0.5) RB) was successfully developed on Zinc foil through low-temperature solvothermal synthesis, and further converted into a dual nanoarchitecture photoelectrode. The optimized ZnO NR-Zn1-xCdxSe NP 160 photoelectrode exhibited high photocurrent density and hydrogen evolution.