Polarization-Enhanced direct Z-scheme ZnO-WO3-x nanorod arrays for efficient piezoelectric-photoelectrochemical Water splitting

[Display omitted] •Direct Z-scheme ZnO-WO3-x was constructed by in-situ solvothermal treatment.•Suitable band structure and Fermi level drive the formation of Z-scheme structure.•Stirring leads to piezoelectric polarization of ZnO, and enhances Z-scheme effect.•Zn-W-5 shows very high piezoelectric-p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Environmental, 2019-12, Vol.259, p.118079, Article 118079
Main Authors: Chen, Ying, Wang, Li, Gao, Ruijie, Zhang, Yong-Chao, Pan, Lun, Huang, Chenyu, Liu, Kan, Chang, Xin-Yuan, Zhang, Xiangwen, Zou, Ji-Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Charge transfer
Chemical bonds
Conduction
Conduction bands
Direct Z-scheme heterojunctions
Energy conversion
Nanorods
Organic chemistry
Photoelectric effect
Photoelectric emission
Photoelectrochemical water splitting
Photosynthesis
Photovoltaic cells
Piezoelectric polarization
Piezoelectricity
Polarization
Solar energy
Splitting
Tungsten oxides
Water splitting
WO3-x
Zinc
Zinc oxide
ZnO
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Summary:[Display omitted] •Direct Z-scheme ZnO-WO3-x was constructed by in-situ solvothermal treatment.•Suitable band structure and Fermi level drive the formation of Z-scheme structure.•Stirring leads to piezoelectric polarization of ZnO, and enhances Z-scheme effect.•Zn-W-5 shows very high piezoelectric-photoelectrochemical activities. Photosynthesis with Z-scheme charge transfer has been recognized as an efficient pathway to achieve solar-energy conversion. Herein, the all-solid-state direct Z-scheme ZnO-WO3-x nanorod arrays were synthesized by in-situ solvothermal treatment for highly piezoelectric (PE)-photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The chemical bonding between WO3-x and ZnO via W-O-Zn and the inherent band structures/Fermi levels drive the formation of direct Z-scheme charge-transfer pathway. Importantly, the optimized structure (Zn-W-5) shows higher PEC activities with high photocurrent density of 2.39 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is 2.13 times higher than pure ZnO. Surprisingly, the obvious PE polarization of ZnO increases its Fermi level toward conduction band and significantly enhances Z-scheme effect between ZnO and WO3-x. Especially, the best sample (Zn-W-5-1000 rpm) shows a photocurrent of 3.38 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is 3.02 times higher than pure ZnO. This work provides a facile PE polarization approach for enhancement of Z-scheme charge-transfer process.
ISSN:0926-3373
1873-3883
DOI:10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.118079