NC Meets CN: Porous Photoanodes with Polymeric Carbon Nitride/ZnSe Nanocrystal Heterojunctions for Photoelectrochemical Applications.
Sanjit Mondal, Tom Naor, Michael Volokh, David Stone, Josep Albero, Adar Levi, Atzmon Vakahi, Hermenegildo Garc��a, Uri Banin, Menny Shalom
Author Information
Sanjit Mondal: Department of Chemistry and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel.
Tom Naor: The Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. ORCID
Michael Volokh: Department of Chemistry and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel. ORCID
David Stone: The Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. ORCID
Josep Albero: Instituto Universitario de Tecnolog��a Qu��mica CSIC-UPV, Universitat Polit��cnica de Val��ncia, Val��ncia 46022, Spain. ORCID
Adar Levi: The Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. ORCID
Atzmon Vakahi: The Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
Hermenegildo Garc��a: Instituto Universitario de Tecnolog��a Qu��mica CSIC-UPV, Universitat Polit��cnica de Val��ncia, Val��ncia 46022, Spain. ORCID
Uri Banin: The Institute of Chemistry and The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. ORCID
Menny Shalom: Department of Chemistry and Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel. ORCID
The utilization of photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) for converting solar energy into fuels (e.g., hydrogen) is a promising method for sustainable energy generation. We demonstrate a strategy to enhance the performance of PEC devices by integrating surface-functionalized zinc selenide (ZnSe) semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) into porous polymeric Carbon Nitride (CN) matrices to form a uniformly distributed blend of NCs within the CN layer via electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The achieved type II heterojunction at the CN/NC interface exhibits intimate contact between the NCs and the CN backbone since it does not contain insulating binders. This configuration promotes efficient charge separation and suppresses carrier recombination. The reported CN/NC composite structure serves as a photoanode, demonstrating a photocurrent density of 160 �� 8 ��A cm at 1.23 V vs a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), 75% higher compared with a CN-based photoelectrode, for approximately 12 h. Spectral and photoelectrochemical analyses reveal extended photoresponse, reduced charge recombination, and successful charge transfer at the formed heterojunction; these properties result in enhanced PEC oxygen production activity with a Faradaic efficiency of 87%. The methodology allows the integration of high-quality colloidal NCs within porous CN-based photoelectrodes and provides numerous knobs for tuning the functionality of the composite systems, thus showing promise for achieving enhanced solar fuel production using PEC.
