“Mulberry-like” CdSe Nanoclusters Anchored on TiO₂ Nanotube Arrays: A Novel Architecture with Remarkable Photoelectrochemical Performance

Abstract

Mulberry-like" CdSe nanoclusters with well-defined crystallinity have been assembled into vertically aligned TiO 2 nanotubes by photo-assisted electrodeposition method to form new architecture for fabricating semiconductor nanocrystal sensitized photovoltaic cell. The multiple staked "mulberrylike" CdSe nanoclusters, caused by the synergistic effect of photoetching and electrodeposition, broaden the absorption spectra to entire visible region with a promising behavior of photoinduced charge separation. A photocurrent density of 16 mA cm -2 was achieved under 100 mW cm -2 visible light illumination with 0 V bias potential (vs SCE). The remarkable photoresponse should be ascribed to the high-quality of 3-D multijunction structure and the driving force for electron transfer in "mulberrylike" nanoclusters. The experimental demonstration provides a strategy for integrating novel "mulberry-like" nanoclusters to fabricate semiconductor nanocrystal sensitized photovoltaic cells.

Mulberry-like dual-drug complicated nanocarriers assembled with apogossypolone amphiphilic starch micelles and doxorubicin hyaluronic acid nanoparticles for tumor combination and targeted therapy

“…The particles were only 10e15 nm in size and stable in solution with high EE and DL. Zhang et al fabricated mulberry-like CdSe/TiO 2 nanoclusters (50e100 nm) with CdSe nanocrystals attached to TiO 2 nanotubes using photoassisted electrodeposition method [41]. This study prompted us to fabricate DHA NPs on the surface of AASt MCs via electrostatic interaction.…”

A facile synthesis of CdSe quantum dots-decorated anatase TiO2 with exposed {0 0 1} facets and its superior photocatalytic activity

“…Especially for semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) decorated T001, the fast diffusion of charge carriers across the interface will cause the rapid charge transfer between QDs and T001, leading to the greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity [24][25][26]. Due to the obvious quantum size effect, strong capability for visible light absorption and well matched energy band position with TiO 2 , CdSe QDs has been extensively employed to couple with TiO 2 in the field of photoelectrochemical devices, solar cells and photocatalysis [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. However, to the best of our knowledge, the work on coupling T001 with CdSe QDs in photocatalytic field has not been reported up to now.…”

Sonication-polished anodic TiO2 nanotube array-based photoanode for efficient solar energy conversion

“…In a PEC system, the employed semiconductor nanomaterials usually have multiple functions, such as harvesting photonics, transporting charge carriers, and catalyzing the PEC reactions at interfaces. Recently, TiO 2 nanotube arrays prepared by an electrochemical anodization method (anodic TiO 2 nanotube arrays (NTAs)) have attracted great attentions in the PEC areas [2,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28], which could be explained by the following reasons. First, this is closely related to the intrinsic features of TiO 2 , such as non-toxicity, low cost, and high stability and flexibility to surface modification.…”

“…Obviously, the poor overlapping with the visible-light spectrum for TiO 2 has greatly limited its application in the PEC fields. As a result, a lot of efforts have been made to induce red shift of the response of TiO 2 to sunlight, such as ion doping [35][36][37][38][39][40][41] and coupling with narrow-bandgap semiconductors [22,[25][26][27][28]42]. Although ion doping could extend light absorption, this method introduced midgap energy levels between the conduction band and valence band of TiO 2 .…”