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Core–Shell Silicon@Mesoporous TiO 2 Heterostructure: Towards Solar‐Powered Photoelectrochemical Conversion
Author(s) -
Pal Manas,
Wu Hao,
Jing Yunke,
Li Xiaomin,
Zhu Hongwei,
Wang Changyao,
Wang Shuai,
AlEnizi Abdullah M.,
Deng Yonghui,
Zheng Gengfeng,
Zhao Dongyuan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemnanomat
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.947
H-Index - 32
ISSN - 2199-692X
DOI - 10.1002/cnma.201600085
Subject(s) - mesoporous material , materials science , anatase , nanotechnology , nanomaterials , heterojunction , nanowire , silicon , nanoparticle , photocatalysis , chemical engineering , semiconductor , nanocomposite , optoelectronics , catalysis , chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
Core–shell heterostructured nanomaterials with mesopores have enormous potential applications in diverse fields. Herein, we report a facile extended Stöber method to synthesize core–shell heterostructured semiconducting nanomaterials with mesoporosity. Silver (Ag) metal‐assisted chemically wet etched p‐type silicon nanowires (Si NWs) were used as the core, and layer‐controllable mesoporous n‐type anatase TiO 2 was grown as the shell to successfully fabricate the core–shell p‐Si@mesoporous n‐TiO 2 hybrid materials. Detailed characterization reveals that the TiO 2 shell was composed of aggregated crystalline TiO 2 nanoparticles with diameters of ≈15 nm, where the TiO 2 coating thickness was tuned ≈50 nm. The interstitial pores of these nanoparticles were observed with average pore sizes of 4–8 nm. The core–shell structured p‐Si@mesoporous n‐TiO 2 hybrid materials were demonstrated as photocathodes for the solar‐driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) production of H 2 at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface.