Fabrication of novel ZnTe-based photocatalyst: Synergistic effect of dye sensitization and bridge engineering for boosting hydrogen evolution over ZnTe

摘要

Herein, a novel ZnTe-based photocatalyst is successfully synthesized via a facile combination of water-bath and hydrothermal processes. Morphology characterization and X-ray diffraction analysis reveal that ZnTe presents irregular granular shape and cubic crystal structure. Moreover, Mott-Schottky measurement shows that the conduction band potential of ZnTe is-0.84 V (vs NHE). With Eosin Y (EY) sensitization, ZnTe exhibits superior photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity (223.5 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)). Meanwhile, WC-ZnTe heterojunction is constructed by depositing ZnTe nanoparticles on bulk WC and obtains the optimal H-2 generation rate (559.1 mmol g(-1 )h(-1)) under EY sensitization. Electrochemical and photoluminescence results further prove that WC as electron bridge could reduce the interfacial resistance and suppress e(-)-h(+) pairs recombination. This study explores the potential application of ZnTe as a newly active photocatalyst in photocatalytic water splitting, and emphasizes the synergistic effect of dye sensitization and bridge engineering. (c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.