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The mechanism of hierarchical regulation to improve stability of heavy-metal-free Zn:CuFeS2 quantum dots sensitized solar PEC cells for highly-efficient hydrogen evolution
Nano Research 2026, 19(6): 94908672
Published: 13 May 2026
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The photo-corrosion of sulfide quantum dots (QDs) always limits the applications in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells as photo-sensitizers. Herein, Zn-doped CuFeS2 (ZCIS) QDs were synthesized to sensitize TiO2/F-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass photoanode. After Zn introduction, the highly chemically active S22− in CuFeS2 (CIS) QDs disappears, and the average grain size of Zn:CuFeS2 reduces, enhancing the quantum confinement effect that accelerates the separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers. After coated with ZnS passivation layer, ZnS/ZCIS/TiO2/FTO photoanode was employed for H2 evolution together with a Pt sheet electrode in aqueous electrolyte. The I-type ZnS/ZCIS heterojunction not only suppresses back electron transfer, but also promotes transfer of carriers furtherly. Zn doping and ZnS coating inhibit photo-corrosion of ZCIS QDs, and improve PEC performance and stability significantly. Under one sun illumination (100 mW/cm2), ZnS/ZCIS/TiO2/FTO photoanode based cell has achieved accumulative H2 yield of 642.17 μmol/cm2 for 4 h with average rate of 160.54 μmol/(cm2·h) at 0.6 V bias. After 16-h H2 evolution in 4-cycle test, the average rate decreases by only 2.13%.

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