Enhanced photoelectrochemical properties of ZnO-CdS composite nanofiber electrodes for water splitting

Well distributed and uniform nanofibers (NFs) of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) decorated with Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully fabricated using the Electrospinning method (ES). A ZnO-CdS junction electrode was created by loading the CdS NPs onto the ZnO NFs using the deposition process. X-ray diffraction of both ZnO NFs and CdS NPs revealed a mixed phase with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. SEM images confirm that the surface of the 33-71nm diameter and several microns long pure ZnO nanofibers was smooth and became granular when CdS nanoparticles were added. The photo-response to visible light at the ZnO-CdS CNFs junction electrode was very strong, which increased the photoelectrochemical activity. Considering this, it was determined that ZnO-CdS CNFs had an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of about 60% as opposed to pure ZnO NFs, which had an IPCE of 33%. In conclusion, ZnO-CdS CNFs generated by a simple, inexpensive, and applicable cell are a promising clean renewable source for usage such as water splitting.