Direct solar to fuel conversions offer an attractive solution to the replacement of fossil fuels with a sustainable energy source. However, designing efficient, stable, and cost effective photoelectrochemical cells is hindered by materials development. One dimensional nanostructures such as semiconductor nanowires have attractive properties that could address these materials challenges. However, the synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures with desired properties is often complicated by the difficulty in changing the composition without sacrificing control over the morphology and material quality. Here, we present a simple method we have developed based on solid state diffusion utilizing atomic layer deposition to controllably alter the composition of metal oxide nanowires.1 This compositional control allows for modification of the optical, electronic, and electrochemical properties of the semiconductor nanowires. Specifically, we demonstrate the doping process resulted in enhancement in the performance for water oxidation, demonstrating that this simple and general method can be used to control the properties of one-dimensional nanostructures for use in a variety of applications including solar-to-fuel generation. 1. Resasco, J. ; Dasgupta, N. ; Roque-Rosell, J. ; Guo,J. ; Yang, P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 10521.

Uniform doping of metal oxide nanowires using solid state diffusion for photoelectrochemical water oxidation

249th National Meeting (2015)

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