Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (10): 1663-1673.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(20)63537-9

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Composition-tunable ZnS1-xSex nanobelt solid solutions for efficient solar-fuel production

Pan Lia,b, Sajjad Hussaina,b, Lu Lia, Lingju Guoa, Tao Hea,b   

  1. a CAS Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China;
    b University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2020-02-24 Revised:2020-03-28 Online:2020-10-18 Published:2020-08-15
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the Belt and Road Initiative by Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21972029).

Abstract: Band engineering based on the construction of solid solutions is an effective approach to enhance the efficiency of semiconductor photocatalysts, via which the balance between light absorption and driving force can be well achieved by continuously tuning the band structure. Here the ZnS1-xSex nanobelt solid solutions have been prepared via thermal treatment of ZnS1-xSex(en)0.5 precursors. The compositions are adjusted by changing the mole ratio of Se to S powder in the starting materials, resulting in continuously modulating the alignment of energy levels of the obtained solid solutions. The band structure is also studied via theoretical calculation. Accordingly, the light harvesting can be tuned too, as confirmed by the UV-vis absorption spectra. XPS valence spectra are used to determine the valence band maximum. Transient photoluminescence spectra are employed to study the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. BET specific surface area and CO2 adsorption isotherms of different catalysts are measured. The obtained ZnS1-xSex nanobelts exhibit different photocatalytic activity for solar-fuel production, dependent on many factors like the light harvesting and alignment of energy levels. The related mechanism is studied in detail.

Key words: ZnS1-xSex, Solid solution, Band engineering, Light harvesting, Charge behavior, Solar fuels