Issue 1, 2018

Unveiling hole trapping and surface dynamics of NiO nanoparticles

Abstract

The research effort in mesoporous p-type semiconductors is increasing due to their potential application in photoelectrochemical energy conversion devices. In this paper an electron–hole pair is created by band-gap excitation of NiO nanoparticles and the dynamics of the electron and the hole is followed until their recombination. By spectroscopic characterization it was found that surface Ni3+ states work as traps for both electrons and holes. The trapped electron was assigned to a Ni2+ state and the trapped hole to a “Ni4+” state positioned close to the valence band edge. The recombination kinetics of these traps was studied and related with the concept of hole relaxation suggested before. The time scale of the hole relaxation was found to be in the order of tens of ns. Finally the spectroscopic evidence of this relaxation is presented in a sensitized film.

Graphical abstract: Unveiling hole trapping and surface dynamics of NiO nanoparticles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
07 Aug. 2017
Accepted
25 Okt. 2017
First published
25 Okt. 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 223-230

Unveiling hole trapping and surface dynamics of NiO nanoparticles

L. D'Amario, J. Föhlinger, G. Boschloo and L. Hammarström, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 223 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC03442C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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