Carrier concentration-dependent electron transfer in Cu2O/ZnO nanorod arrays and their photocatalytic performance

Abstract

In this paper, we have engineered the interface electronic structure in Cu₂O/ZnO nanorod arrays, via adjusting the carrier concentration of Cu₂O, and applied them to photocatalysis. The photoinduced charge transfer kinetics at the interface between Cu₂O and ZnO were systematically investigated. The Cu₂O (pH 11.0)/ZnO nanorod arrays have the largest magnitude of interfacial electric field, and photoinduced charge carriers can be separated rapidly and efficiently, which generates the highest photocatalytic efficiency for the reduction of methylviologen. Heterojunction construction is an exciting direction to pursue for highly active photocatalysts, and also offers opportunities to investigate the relationship between the electronic structure and the photocatalytic performance.