Effect of Varying AgNO 3 and CS(NH 2 ) 2 Concentrations on Performance of Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO Photoanode

Araa Mebdir Holi, Zulkarnain Zainal, Asla A. Al-Zahrani, Asmaa Kadim Ayal and Asmaa Soheil Najm
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Araa Mebdir Holi: Department of Physics, College of Education, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Diwaniyah 58002, Iraq
Zulkarnain Zainal: Materials Synthesis and Characterization Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor, Serdang 43400 UPM, Malaysia
Asla A. Al-Zahrani: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Eastern Region, Dammam 34221, Saudi Arabia
Asmaa Kadim Ayal: Department of Chemistry, College of Science for Women, University of Baghdad, Baghdad 10071, Iraq
Asmaa Soheil Najm: Department of Electrical Electronic & Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Bangi 43600 UKM, Malaysia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: This research focuses on improving the photoelectrochemical performance of binary heterostructure Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO by manipulating synthesis conditions, particularly the concentrations of sliver nitrate AgNO 3 and thiourea CS(NH 2 ) 2 . The photoelectrochemical performance of Ag 2 S/ZnO nanorods on indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocomposite was compared to pristine ZnO NRs/ITO photoanode. The hydrothermal technique, an eco-friendly, low-cost method, was used to successfully produce Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs at different concentrations of AgNO 3 and CS(NH 2 ) 2 . The obtained thin films were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), and photoelectrochemical studies (PECs). We observed that there was an enhancement in absorbance in the visible region and effective photoelectron transfer between the Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO photoelectrode and the electrolyte Red-Ox when illuminated with 100 mW cm ?2 . Increasing the concentration of AgNO 3 caused a remarkable decrease in the optical bandgap energy ( E g ) values. However, we noticed that there was an unstable trend in E g when the concentration of CS(NH 2 ) 2 was adjusted. The photoelectrochemical studies revealed that at a bias of 1.0 V, and 0.005 M of AgNO 3 and 0.03 M of CS(NH 2 ) 2 , the maximum photocurrent of the Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO photoanode was 3.97 mA/cm 2 , which is almost 11 times that of plain ZnO nanorods. Based on the outcomes of this investigating, the Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO photoanode is proposed as a viable alternative photoanode in photoelectrochemical applications.

Keywords: varying AgNO 3 and CS(NH 2 ) 2 concentrations; Ag 2 S/ZnO NRs/ITO photoanode; photoelectrochemical performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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