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Nano Research 2023, 16(2): 2271-2277 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5055-2
Research Article | Issue | Published: 24 October 2022

Counterbalancing of electron and hole transfer in quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution

Show Author's Information Ping Wang1,2,3,§( ),  Wenwu Shi2,4,§,  Na Jin2,  Zhenyang Liu2,  Yongchen Wang5,  Tong Cai2,  Katie Hills-Kimball2,  Hanjun Yang2,  Xiaotian Yang1,6( ),  Yongdong Jin3,  Xinzhong Wang4( ),  Jing Zhao4,  Ou Chen2( )
Key Laboratory of Preparation and Applications of Environmental Friendly Material of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, China
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen 518172, China
Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3060, USA
Key Laboratory for Comprehensive Energy Saving of Cold Regions Architecture of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun 130118, China

§ Ping Wang and Wenwu Shi contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
quantum dots, photocatalysis, hydrogen, ZnSe, CdSe/CdS, partial coating
Topics:
Catalysis
Cite this article:
Wang P, Shi W, Jin N, et al. Counterbalancing of electron and hole transfer in quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution. Nano Research, 2023, 16(2): 2271-2277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5055-2
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

In-depth understandings of charge carrier transfer dynamics in any artificial catalytic system are of critical importance for the future design of highly efficient photocatalysts. Herein, we synthesized sub-monolayer ZnSe partial-shell coated CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots in a controlled fashion. The ZnSe decorated quantum dots were employed as a model catalyst for photogeneration of H2 under light illumination. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results unravel that the growth of ZnSe partial-shell would retard the photogenerated electron transfer, and meanwhile, accelerate the corresponding hole migration process during the H2 photogeneration reaction in the artificial photocatalytic system. As such, the performance of the relevant photocatalytic system can be modulated and optimized, and accordingly, a plausible underlying mechanism is rationalized.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Counterbalancing of electron and hole transfer in quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution

Show Author's information Ping Wang1,2,3,§( ), Wenwu Shi2,4,§, Na Jin2, Zhenyang Liu2, Yongchen Wang5, Tong Cai2, Katie Hills-Kimball2, Hanjun Yang2, Xiaotian Yang1,6( ), Yongdong Jin3, Xinzhong Wang4( ), Jing Zhao4, Ou Chen2( )
Key Laboratory of Preparation and Applications of Environmental Friendly Material of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, China
Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen 518172, China
Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3060, USA
Key Laboratory for Comprehensive Energy Saving of Cold Regions Architecture of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun 130118, China

§ Ping Wang and Wenwu Shi contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

In-depth understandings of charge carrier transfer dynamics in any artificial catalytic system are of critical importance for the future design of highly efficient photocatalysts. Herein, we synthesized sub-monolayer ZnSe partial-shell coated CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots in a controlled fashion. The ZnSe decorated quantum dots were employed as a model catalyst for photogeneration of H2 under light illumination. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results unravel that the growth of ZnSe partial-shell would retard the photogenerated electron transfer, and meanwhile, accelerate the corresponding hole migration process during the H2 photogeneration reaction in the artificial photocatalytic system. As such, the performance of the relevant photocatalytic system can be modulated and optimized, and accordingly, a plausible underlying mechanism is rationalized.

Keywords: quantum dots, photocatalysis, hydrogen, ZnSe, CdSe/CdS, partial coating

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 27 July 2022
Revised: 12 September 2022
Accepted: 14 September 2022
Published: 24 October 2022
Issue date: February 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

P. W. acknowledges the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the startup funding of Jilin Normal University (No. 2021036). X. T. Y. acknowledges the funding of Changbai Mountain industrial project R&D leading team, Jilin Provincial Department of Science and Technology, China. O. C. acknowledges the support from the Electron Microscopy Facility and NanoTools Facility at Brown University.

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