Enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2 nanorod arrays decorated with CdS nanoparticles

Zheng Xie; Xiangxuan Liu; Weipeng Wang; Can Liu; Zhengcao Li; Zhengjun Zhang

doi:10.1088/1468-6996/15/5/055006

Enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of TiO₂ nanorod arrays decorated with CdS nanoparticles

Sci Technol Adv Mater. 2014 Sep 23;15(5):055006. doi: 10.1088/1468-6996/15/5/055006. eCollection 2014 Oct.

Authors

Zheng Xie¹, Xiangxuan Liu², Weipeng Wang³, Can Liu³, Zhengcao Li³, Zhengjun Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China; High-Tech Institute of Xi'an, Shannxi 710025, People's Republic of China.
² High-Tech Institute of Xi'an, Shannxi 710025, People's Republic of China.
³ The State Key Laboratory for New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

TiO₂ nanorod arrays (TiO₂ NRAs) sensitized with CdS nanoparticles were fabricated via successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), and TiO₂ NRAs were obtained by oxidizing Ti NRAs obtained through oblique angle deposition. The TiO₂ NRAs decorated with CdS nanoparticles exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties under visible light, and the one decorated with 20 SILAR cycles CdS nanoparticles shows the best performance. This can be attributed to the enhanced separation of electrons and holes by forming heterojunctions of CdS nanoparticles and TiO₂ NRAs. This provides a promising way to fabricate the material for solar energy conversion and wastewater degradation.

Keywords: CdS NPs; OAD; TiO2 NRAs; photocatalyst; photoelectrochemistry; visible light.