Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Jang, Youn Jeong
• Bhatt, Mahesh Datt
• Lee, Jaehyuk
• Choi, Sun Hee
• Lee, Byeong Jun
• Lee, Jae Sung

Titel

Metal‐Free Artificial Photosynthesis of Carbon Monoxide Using N‐Doped ZnTe Nanorod Photocathode Decorated with N‐Doped Carbon Electrocatalyst Layer

Ist Teil von

• Advanced energy materials, 2018-07, Vol.8 (20), p.n/a

Ort / Verlag

Weinheim: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Quelle

Wiley Online Library All Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• An artificial photosynthesis system based on N‐doped ZnTe nanorods decorated with an N‐doped carbon electrocatalyst layer is fabricated via an all‐solution process for the selective conversion of CO2 to CO. Substitutional N‐doping into the ZnTe lattice decreases the bandgap slightly and improves the charge transfer characteristics, leading to enhanced photoelectrochemical activity. Remarkable N‐doping effects are also demonstrated by the N‐doped carbon layer that promotes selective CO2‐to‐CO conversion instead of undesired water‐to‐H2 reduction by providing active sites for CO2 adsorption and activation, even in the absence of metallic redox centers. The photocathode shows promising performance in photocurrent generation (−1.21 mA cm−2 at −0.11 VRHE), CO selectivity (dominant CO production of ≈72%), minor H2 reduction (≈20%), and stability (corrosion suppression). The metal‐free electrocatalyst/photocatalyst combination prepared via a cost‐effective solution process exhibits high performance due to synergistic effects between them, and thus may find application in practical solar fuel production. A metal‐free solar CO2 reduction system with an integrated photocathode of an efficient N‐doped ZnTe photocatalyst and N‐doped carbon electrocatalyst facilitates selective solar CO production at very low applied bias in a cost‐effective manner. The developed photocatalyst and electrocatalyst show a good synergistic effect, and the combined system shows strong potential for use in practical solar fuel production.