Cadmium selenide-sensitized upright-standing mesoporous zinc oxide nanosheets for efficient photoelectrochemical H2 production

Cadmium selenide (CdSe)-sensitized upright-standing mesoporous zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets were prepared via a chemical bath deposition followed by annealing and electrochemical deposition of CdSe quantum dots (QDs). The CdSe QDs absorb visible photons under sunlight illumination, promoting electrons from the valence band to the conduction band of CdSe, which then quickly transfer to ZnO followed by the external load to the Pt counter electrode for water reduction. The as-prepared CdSe/ZnO nanosheets show promising photoelectrochemical activities for hydrogen generation.

Graphical abstractCadmium selenide-sensitized upright-standing ZnO nanosheets can be fabricated using a facile all solution-phase approach. As a photoanode, the CdSe-sensitized ZnO nanosheets demonstrated significantly enhanced performance in photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide