Controllable synthesis of double layered tubular CdSe/ZnO arrays and their photoelectrochemical performance for hydrogen production

CdSe sensitized ZnO nanostructure arrays with double layered tubular structure were first synthesized by chemical bath deposition and chemical etch process with hydrothermal-synthesized ZnO nanorods as the template. CdSe/ZnO arrays with different micro-nanostructures like nanocable or double layered nanotube were obtained by changing chemical bath deposition conditions. Physicochemical and electrical properties of this novel material were investigated to describe its photoelectrochemical performance in an electrode cell. Under the irradiation of 100 mW/cm2, CdSe/ZnO with double layered tubular structure gave maximum photocurrent of 2.55 mA/cm2, which is over 12 times larger than that of bare ZnO. The high performance of this material was believed structure dependent. The structure effect and growth mechanism of the double layered nanostructure arrays were also discussed in this paper.

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► Double layered CdSe/ZnO arrays were prepared by CBD approach.
► Structure of the samples could be controlled by tuning the experimental condition.
► Physicochemical and photoelectrochemical properties were investigated.
► CdSe/ZnO prepared at 60 °C for 60 min showed superior photocatalytic activity.
► Growth mechanism of this new structure was also forecasted.