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Au/CdSe hybrid nanoflowers: a high photocurrent generating photoelectrochemical cells

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Abstract

Photoelectrochemical cell composed of solution-processed nanoflower heterostructure of Au core and eight CdSe petals was investigated for enhanced photocurrent generation. The electrode of CdSe nanorods displayed photocurrent density of 2.1 mA/cm2 whereas the Au core CdSe nanoflower exhibited 4.6 mA/cm2 corresponding to a 119% increase during photoelectrochemical cell performance. Both electrodes showed prompt response to the on/off cycles of light, the photocurrent gain (IPhoton/Idark) in CdSe nanorods is 124.7, while the value is 223.3 for Au/CdSe nanoflower, calculated from the growth-decay curves. Photoresponse time was dramatically improved for Au/CdSe nanoflower samples due to increasing in 66% incident photon-to-current emission. Electron lifetime of 21.63 and 48.71 ns was observed for the electrode of CdSe nanorods and Au/CdSe nanoflowers respectively. The prolonged electron lifetime in the case of the electrode of Au/CdSe nanoflowers was responsible for improving charge separation and as a consequence, higher photocurrent generation.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the research seed money from Central University of Punjab, Bathinda [Project GP-25].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, 151001, India

    Krishna Kanta Haldar & Rathindranath Biswas

  2. Department of Materials Science, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700032, India

    Amitava Patra

  3. Physics Department, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India

    Krishna Kamal Halder

  4. Institute of Nano Science & Technology, Mohali, Punjab, 160062, India

    Tapasi Sen

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  1. Krishna Kanta Haldar
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Correspondence to Krishna Kanta Haldar.

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Haldar, K.K., Biswas, R., Patra, A. et al. Au/CdSe hybrid nanoflowers: a high photocurrent generating photoelectrochemical cells. Gold Bull 52, 1–7 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-018-0247-y

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