Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting by a 3D hierarchical sea urchin-like structure: ZnO nanorod arrays on TiOhollow hemisphere.

A hierarchical sea urchin-like hybrid metal oxide nanostructure of ZnO nanorods deposited on TiOporous hollow hemispheres with a thin zinc titanate interface layer is specifically designed and synthesized to form a combined type I straddling and type II staggered junctions. The HHSs, synthesized by electrospinning, facilitate light trapping and scattering. The ZnO nanorods offer a large surface area for improved surface oxidation kinetics.

Light trapping by porous TiO hollow hemispheres for high efficiency photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Photocatalytic water splitting has recently received increasing attention as a green fuel source. The controlled nano-geometry of the photocatalytic material can improve light harvesting. In this study, as a proof of concept, hollow hemisphere (HHS)-based films of TiO material were created by a conventional electrospray method and subsequently applied for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting.