Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of bridged ZnO nanorod arrays grown on V-grooved structure

• Main Authors: Wei, Yuefan, Ke, Lin, Leong, Eunice Sok Ping, Liu, Hong, Liew, Laura-Lynn, Teng, Jing Hua, Du, Hejun, Sun, Xiaowei
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/96653; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/9975
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Bridged ZnO nanorod arrays on a V-grooved Si(100) substrate were used as the photoanode of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell for water splitting. Photolithography followed by reactive ion etching was employed to create a V-grooved structure on a Si substrate. ZnO nanorod arrays were grown via a hydrothermal method. The light trapping and PEC properties are greatly enhanced using the bridged ZnO nanorod arrays on a V-grooved Si substrate compared with those on a flat one. Increased short circuit photocurrent density (JSC, 0.73 mA cm−2) and half-life time (1500 s) are achieved. This improved JSC and half-life time are 4 times and 10 times, respectively, higher than those of the ZnO nanorod arrays grown on a flat substrate. The overall PEC cell performance improvement for the V-groove grown ZnO array is attributed to the reduced light reflection and enhanced light trapping effect. Moreover, V-groove ZnO showed stronger adhesion between ZnO nanorod arrays and the substrate.