Steering the photo-induced charge-flow based on unique bandgap alignment in semiconductor heterojunctions is critical for photocatalysis applications. Thus, design rational synthesis approach to construct novel heterostructures for efficient band engineering is highly desired. Herein, we report our recent progress on design and synthesis of semiconducting metal sulfide heteronanostructures (-ZnS-CdS-ZnS-, Cu1.94S-ZnS) as well as ternary semiconductor-(semiconductor/metal) nanoarchitecture for solar energy conversion. Through using our synthesized unique ultrathin ZnS nanorods as the template, we further prepared a series of ternary multi-node sheath heteronanorods, realizing enhanced full-spectrum absorption and efficient charge separation for solar energy conversion. In addition, self-coupled Cu2−xS heteronanostructure polymorphs (Cu1.94S-CuS) can also be synthesized by a facile one-pot chemical transformation route, showing much enhanced photoelectrochemical performance. These emerging semiconducting heteronanostructures show promising application potential for solar energy conversion.

Engineering colloidal semiconducting heteronanorods for solar energy conversion

255th National Meeting (2018)

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