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Counterbalancing of electron and hole transfer in quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution

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Abstract

In-depth understandings of charge carrier transfer dynamics in any artificial catalytic system are of critical importance for the future design of highly efficient photocatalysts. Herein, we synthesized sub-monolayer ZnSe partial-shell coated CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots in a controlled fashion. The ZnSe decorated quantum dots were employed as a model catalyst for photogeneration of H2 under light illumination. Both theoretical calculations and experimental results unravel that the growth of ZnSe partial-shell would retard the photogenerated electron transfer, and meanwhile, accelerate the corresponding hole migration process during the H2 photogeneration reaction in the artificial photocatalytic system. As such, the performance of the relevant photocatalytic system can be modulated and optimized, and accordingly, a plausible underlying mechanism is rationalized.

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Acknowledgements

Prof. P. W. acknowledges the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the startup funding of Jilin Normal University (No. 2021036). Prof. X. T. Y. acknowledges the funding of Changbai Mountain industrial project R&D leading team, Jilin Provincial Department of Science and Technology, China. Prof. O. C. acknowledges the support from the Electron Microscopy Facility and NanoTools Facility at Brown University.

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  1. Ping Wang and Wenwu Shi contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Preparation and Applications of Environmental Friendly Material of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Changchun, 130103, China

    Ping Wang & Xiaotian Yang

  2. Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912, USA

    Ping Wang, Wenwu Shi, Na Jin, Zhenyang Liu, Tong Cai, Katie Hills-Kimball, Hanjun Yang & Ou Chen

  3. State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, China

    Ping Wang & Yongdong Jin

  4. Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology, Shenzhen, 518172, China

    Wenwu Shi, Xinzhong Wang & Jing Zhao

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269-3060, USA

    Yongchen Wang

  6. Key Laboratory for Comprehensive Energy Saving of Cold Regions Architecture of the Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Xiaotian Yang

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  1. Ping Wang
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Correspondence to Ping Wang, Xiaotian Yang, Xinzhong Wang or Ou Chen.

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Wang, P., Shi, W., Jin, N. et al. Counterbalancing of electron and hole transfer in quantum dots for enhanced photocatalytic H2 evolution. Nano Res. 16, 2271–2277 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5055-2

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