Photoelectrochemical performance of N-doped ZnO branched nanowire photoanodes

• Published in: Heliyon Vol. 3; no. 10; p. e00423
• Main Authors: Allami, Shrok, Abid Ali, Zainab D., Li, Ying, Hamody, Hayder, Jawad, Basher Hasan, Liu, Li, Li, Tianshu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter physics; Engineering; Materials science; Nanotechnology; Engineering; Materials science; Condensed matter physics; Nanotechnology
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2017.e00423

A ZnO branched-nanowire (BNW) photoanode was doped with N for use in a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) to generate H2 from water splitting. First, ZnO BNWs were synthesized by chemical bath deposition method. Two experimental methods were used for N-doping: the time-controlled direct-current glow discharge plasma (DCGDP) and the DC magnetron plasma (DCMP) methods, to optimize N-doping of the NW structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provided the N distribution and atomic percentage in the BNWs. The XPS results confirmed that N distribution into ZnO BNWs occurred by N substitution of O sites in the ZnO structure and through well-screened molecular N2. The morphologies and structures of the fabricated nanostructures were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction respectively. The photoanode performance was demonstrated in photoelectrochemical studies at various power densities under both dark and illuminated conditions. Increasing the N amount in the ZnO BNWs increased the photocurrent in the PEC.