Quantum confined colloidal nanorod heterostructures for solar-to-fuel conversion
Abstract
Solar energy conversion, particularly solar-driven chemical fuel formation, has been intensely studied in the past decades as a potential approach for renewable energy generation. Efficient solar-to-fuel conversion requires artificial photosynthetic systems with strong light absorption, long-lived charge separation and efficient catalysis. Colloidal quantum confined nanoheterostructures have emerged as promising materials for this application because of the ability to tailor their properties through size, shape and composition. In particular, colloidal one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanorods (NRs) offer the opportunity to simultaneously maintain quantum confinement in radial dimensions for tunable light absorptions and bulk like carrier transport in the axial direction for long-distance charge separations. In addition, the versatile chemistry of colloidal NRs enables the formation of semiconductor heterojunctions (such as CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod NRs) to separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and deposition of metallic domains to accept charges and catalyze redox reactions. In this review, we summarize research progress on colloidal NR heterostructures and their applications for solar energy conversion, emphasizing mechanistic insights into the working principle of these systems gained from spectroscopic studies. Following a brief overview of synthesis of various NRs and heterostructures, we introduce their electronic structures and dynamics of exciton and carrier…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Chaos and quantum thermalization
- The Dalton quantum chemistry program system
- Cord Blood Leptin and Adiponectin as Predictors of Adiposity in Children at 3 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study
- Quantitative metabolomics by H-NMR and LC-MS/MS confirms altered metabolic pathways in diabetes
- Stable adiabatic quantum batteries
- A novel self-lipid antigen targets human T cells against CD1c(+) leukemias
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.