碳纳米管／半导体纳米复合材料的光电化学特性及其应用

Photoelectrochemical Properties and Applications of Carbon Nanotubes/Semiconductor Nanocomposites

光电化学过程是在光作用下的电化学过程,它是光伏电池,光电催化等实际应用的基础,是当前十分活跃的研究领域。碳纳米管具有很高的热稳定性,良好的导电能力,大的比表面积,被认为是半导体纳米粒子的有效载体,其独特的一维结构可以为电子提供有效的传输路径。碳纳米管与半导体材料复合,能实现碳纳米管和半导体在结构和性能上的协同,近年来在光电化学领域受到了广泛的关注。本文基于国内外最新研究进展,结合本课题组的研究成果,综述了碳纳米管/半导体复合材料的光电协同作用机理及其在太阳能电池、光电催化降解污染物、光电协同分解水制氢领域中的应用。

Photoelectrochemieal process is an electrochemical process active research field currently. It is also the base of practical under light irradiation, which is a very applications for photovoltaic cells, photoelectrocatalysis and so on. The high performance photoelectrochemical devices are strongly dependent on advanced semiconductors or their nanocomposites with high quantum efficiency. On the other hand, because of their good chemical and thermal stability, high electrical conductivity and large surface area, carbon nanotubes （CNTs） have been used as effective supports for semiconductors, and their unique one-dimensional geometric structure provides effective transmission path for electrons. Moreover, carbon nanotube/semiconductor nanocomposites which have attracted great attentions usually exhibit synergistic effect for high photoeletrochemical response. The recombination of photo-induced electrons and holes will be restrained further with the applied bias voltage, thus facilitates the transfer of electrons to the external circuit. In this review paper, we summarize the progress of the recently published literatures and our findings on photoelectrochemical properties and applications based on carbon nanotubes/semiconductor nanocomposites. The enhancement mechanism for the high photoelectrochemical performance of the nanocomposites is discussed. The applications including solar ceils, photoelectrochemical degradation of pollutants and splitting of water for hydrogen generation are introduced in details. The prospect and challenge to the material science and future applications are also discussed.