Growth-control of hexagonal CdS-decorated ZnO nanorod arrays with low-temperature preheating treatment for improved properties and efficient photoelectrochemical applications.

The limitations of oxide semiconductor-based solar cells in achieving high energy conversion efficiencies have prompted incessant research efforts towards the creation of efficient heterostructures. Despite its toxicity, no other semiconducting material can fully replace CdS as a versatile visible light-absorbing sensitizer. Herein, we explore the of preheating treatment in the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) deposition technique and improve the understanding of the principle and the effects of a controlled growth environment on thus-formed CdS thin films.