Open AccessAmbient Aqueous Growth of Cu 2 Te Nanostructures with Excellent Electrocatalytic Activity toward Sulfide Redox Shuttles
Author(s) -
Han Chao,
Bai Yang,
Sun Qiao,
Zhang Shaohua,
Li Zhen,
Wang Lianzhou,
Dou Shixue
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201500350
Subject(s) - aqueous solution , sulfide , redox , nanostructure , inorganic chemistry , chemical engineering , materials science , copper sulfide , chalcogen , iron sulfide , chemistry , copper , nanotechnology , metallurgy , sulfur , crystallography , engineering
A new aqueous and scalable strategy to synthesize surfactant‐free Cu 2 Te nanotubes and nanosheets at room temperature has been developed. In aqueous solution, Cu 2 E (E = O, S, Se) nanoparticles can be easily transformed into Cu 2 Te nanosheets and nanotubes via a simple anion exchange reaction under ambient conditions. The formation of Cu 2 Te nanosheets is ascribed to a novel exchange‐peeling growth mechanism instead of simple Kirkendall effect; and the resultant nanosheets can be further rolled into nanotubes with assistance of stirring. The morphologies of Cu 2 Te nanosheets and nanotubes can be easily controlled by changing the synthesis parameters, such as the concentration of precursors, the size of nanoparticle precursor, and the amount of NaBH 4 , as well as the stirring speed. Thus‐formed Cu 2 Te nanostructures exhibit excellent catalytic activity toward sulfide redox shuttles and are exploited as counter electrodes catalysts for quantum dot sensitized solar cells. The performance of Cu 2 Te nanostructures strongly depends on their morphology, and the solar cells made with counter electrodes from Cu 2 Te nanosheets show the maximum power conversion efficiency of 5.35%.