Fabrication and photoelectrochemical property of In2O3/ZnO composite nanotube arrays using ZnO nanorods as self-sacrificing templates

摘要

In2O3/ZnO composite nanotube arrays were prepared on FTO substrate via a novel immersion-calcination method using ZnO nanorods as self-sacrificing templates. The composition and morphology of the In2O3/ZnO samples could be tuned by changing the immersion time of ZnO nanorod arrays in a 0.50 M In(NO3)(3) solution. The photoelectrochemical activity of the prepared samples was studied and the optimized In2O3/ZnO electrode exhibited the highest anodic photocurrent of 0.36 mA cm(-2), which is 3.5 times of that of pure ZnO electrode under visible light illumination. The improved photoelectrochemical performance is ascribed not only to the synergy effect at the interface of In2O3 and ZnO, but also to the enhanced electron transfer along the one dimensional In2O3/ZnO nanotube arrays. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.