Light Trapping in Branched Nanostructure Semiconductors
One‐dimensional nanostructures including nanowires (NWs), nanotubes, and nanofibers have shown promising PEC solar water splitting performance owing to their enhanced light absorption, higher surface area, reduced carrier recombination, and improved charge collection efficiency compared to their bulk counterparts. However, one‐dimensional structures still show insufficient specific surface area for water‐splitting reaction compared to mesoporous films. The hierarchically branched nanorod structure is a model architecture for efficient PEC application because it simultaneously offers a large seminconductor/electrolyte contact, excellent light‐trapping characteristics, and a highly conductive pathway for charge‐carrier collection. For example, branched TiO2 and ZnO nanorod arrays have been constructed exhibiting superior PEC water‐splitting performance. Here mire details and examples are available.
1- Cho et al. Branched TiO2 Nanorods for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production, 2011.