The development of advanced materials to improve the efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting paves the way for widespread renewable energy technologies. Efficient photoanodes with strong absorbance in visible light increases the effectiveness of solar energy conversion systems. MoS2 in a two-dimensional semiconductor that has excellent absorption performance in visible light and high catalytic activity, showing considerable potential as an agent of PEC water splitting. In this study, we successfully modulated the MoS2 morphology on indium tin oxide substrate by using the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition method, and applied the PEC application. The PEC photocurrent of the vertically grown MoS2 nanosheet structure significantly increased relative to that of MoS2 nanoparticles because of the efficient transfer of charge carriers and high-density active sites. The enhanced photocurrent was attributed to the efficient charge separation and improved light absorption of the MoS2 nanosheet structure. Meanwhile, the photocurrent property of thick nanosheets decreased because of the limit imposed by the diffusion lengths of carriers. This study proposes a valuable photoelectrode design with suitable nanosheet morphology for efficient PEC water splitting.

We report the growth and enhanced photoelectrochemcial (PEC) water-splitting reactivity of few-layer MoS2 nanosheets on TiO2 nanowires. TiO2 nanowires with lengths of ~1.5 ~ 2.0 μm and widths of ~50~300 nm are synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates at 180 oC using hydrothermal methods with Ti(C4H9O)4. Few-layer MoS2 nanosheets with heights of ~250 ~ 300 nm are vertically grown on TiO2 nanowires at a moderate growth temperature of 300 oC using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The MoS2 nanosheets on TiO2 nanowires exhibit typical Raman and ultraviolet-visible light absorption spectra corresponding to few-layer thick MoS2. The PEC performance of the MoS2 nanosheet/TiO2 nanowire heterostructure is superior to that of bare TiO2 nanowires. MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure shows three times higher photocurrent than that of bare TiO2 nanowires at 0.6 V. The enhanced PEC photocurrent is attributed to improved light absorption of MoS2 nanosheets and efficient charge separation through the heterojunction. The photoelectrode of the MoS2/TiO2 heterostructure is stably sustained during on-off switching PEC cycle.

We investigate the characteristics of self-assembled quantum dot infrared photodetectors(QDIPs) based on doping level. Two kinds of QDIP samples are prepared using molecular beam epitaxy : n+-i(QD)-n+ QDIP with undoped quantum dot(QD) active region and n+-n−(QD)-n+ QDIP containing Si direct doped QDs. InAs QDIPs were grown on semi-insulating GaAs (100) wafers by molecular-beam epitaxy. Both top and bottom contact GaAs layer are Si doped at 2×1018/cm3. The QD layers are grown by two-monolayer of InAs deposition and capped by InGaAs layer. For the n+-n−(QD)-n+ structure, Si dopant is directly doped in InAs QD at 2×1017/cm3. Undoped and doped QDIPs show a photoresponse peak at about 8.3 μm, ranging from 6~10 μm at 10 K. The intensity of the doped QDIP photoresponse is higher than that of the undoped QDIP on same temperature. Undoped QDIP yields a photoresponse of up to 50 K, whereas doped QDIP has a response of up to 30 K only. This result suggests that the doping level of QDs should be appropriately determined by compromising between photoresponsivity and operating temperature.

We report the properties of infrared photodetectors based on two kinds of quantum dots(QDs): i) 2.0 ML InAs QDs by the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode(SK QDs) and ii) sub-monolayer QDs by 4 × [0.3 ML/1 nm In0.15Ga0.85As] deposition(SML QDs). The QD infrared photodetector(QDIP) structure of n+-n−(QDs)-n+ is epitaxially grown on GaAs (100) wafers using molecular-beam epitaxy. Both the bottom and top contact GaAs layers are Si doped at 2 × 1018/cm3. The QD layers are grown with Si doping of 2 × 1017/cm3 and capped by an In0.15Ga0.85As layer at 495 oC. The photoluminescence peak(1.24 eV) of the SML QDIP is blue-shifted with respect to that (1.04 eV) of SK QDIPs, suggesting that the electron ground state of SML QDIP is higher than that of the SK QDIP. As a result, the photoresponse regime(~9-14 μm) of the SML QDIP is longer than that (~6-12 μm) of the SK QDIP. The dark current of the SML QDIP is two orders of magnitude smaller value than that of the SK QDIP because of the inserted Al0.08Ga0.92As layer.

We report the chemical vapor deposition growth characteristics of graphene on various catalytic metal substrates such as Ni, Fe, Ag, Au, and Pt. 50-nm-thick metal films were deposited on SiO2/Si substrates using dc magnetron sputtering. Graphene was synthesized on the metal/SiO2/Si substrates with CH4 gas (1 SCCM) diluted in mixed gases of 10% H2 and 90 % Ar (99 SCCM) using inductively-coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD). The highest quality of graphene film was achieved on Ni and Fe substrates at 900˚C and 500 W of ICP power. Ni substrate seemed to be the best catalytic material among the tested materials for graphene growth because it required the lowest growth temperature (600˚C) as well as showing a low ICP power of 200W. Graphene films were successfully grown on Ag, Au, and Pt substrates as well. Graphene was formed on Pt substrate within 2 sec, while graphene film was achieved on Ni substrate over a period of 5 min of growth. These results can be understood as showing the direct CVD growth of graphene with a highly efficient catalytic reaction on the Pt surface.

Graphene oxide has been synthesized by microwave-assisted exfoliation of graphite oxide prepared by modified Hummers method. Graphite was oxidized in a solution of H2O2 and KMnO4 at 65~80˚C, followed by 10 % H2O2 solution treatment at 80~90˚C. The graphite oxide was exfoliated under microwave irradiation of 1 kW and was reduced to graphene effectively by hydrazine hydrate (H4N2·H2O) treatment. The exfoliation of graphene oxide was significantly affected by the microwave irradiation on (heating)/off (cooling) period. An on/off period of 10 s/20 s resulted in much more effective exfoliation than that of 5 s/10 s with the same total treatment time of 10 min. This can be explained by the higher exfoliation temperature of 10 s/20 s. Repetition of the graphite oxidation and exfoliation processes also enhanced the exfoliation of graphene oxide. The thickness of the final graphene products was estimated to be several layers. The D band peaks of the Raman spectra of the final graphene products were quite low, suggesting a high crystal quality.

The effect of a sputter deposition sequence of Cu, Zn, and Sn metal layers on the properties of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) was systematically studied for solar cell applications. The set of Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu multi metal films was deposited on a Mo/SiO2/Si wafer using dc sputtering. CZTS films were prepared through a sulfurization process of the Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu metal layers at 500˚C in a H2S gas environment. H2S (0.1%) gas of 200 standard cubic centimeters per minute was supplied in the cold-wall sulfurization reactor. The metal film prepared by one-cycle deposition of Cu(360 nm)/Sn(400 nm)/Zn(400 nm)/Cu(440 nm) had a relatively rough surface due to a well-developed columnar structure growth. A dense and smooth metal surface was achieved for two- or three-cycle deposition of Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu, in which each metal layer thickness was decreased to 200 nm. Moreover, the three-cycle deposition sample showed the best CZTS kesterite structures after 5 hr sulfurization treatment. The two- and three-cycle Cu/Sn/Zn/Cu samples showed high-efficient photoluminescence (PL) spectra after a 3 hr sulfurization treatment, wheres the one-cycle sample yielded poor PL efficiency. The PL spectra of the three-cycle sample showed a broad peak in the range of 700-1000 nm, peaked at 870 nm (1.425 eV). This result is in good agreement with the reported bandgap energy of CZTS.

Graphene has been synthesized on 100- and 300-nm-thick Ni/SiO2/Si substrates with CH4 gas (1 SCCM) diluted in mixed gases of 10% H2 and 90% Ar (99 SCCM) at 900˚C by using inductively-coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD). The film morphology of 100-nm-thick Ni changed to islands on SiO2/Si substrate after heat treatment at 900˚C for 2 min because of grain growth, whereas 300-nm-thick Ni still maintained a film morphology. Interestingly, suspended graphene was formed among Ni islands on 100-nm-thick Ni/SiO2/Si substrate for the very short growth of 1 sec. In addition, the size of the graphene domains was much larger than that of Ni grains of 300-nm-thick Ni/SiO2/Si substrate. These results suggest that graphene growth is strongly governed by the direct formation of graphene on the Ni surface due to reactive carbon radicals highly activated by ICP, rather than to well-known carbon precipitation from carbon-containing Ni. The D peak intensity of the Raman spectrum of graphene on 300-nm-thick Ni/SiO2/Si was negligible, suggesting that high-quality graphene was formed. The 2D to G peak intensity ratio and the full-width at half maximum of the 2D peak were approximately 2.6 and 47cm-1, respectively. The several-layer graphene showed a low sheet resistance value of 718Ω/sq and a high light transmittance of 87% at 550 nm.

TiO2 nanowires were self-catalytically synthesized on bare Si(100) substrates using metallorganic chemical vapor deposition. The nanowire formation was critically affected by growth temperature. The TiO2 nanowires were grown at a high density on Si(100) at 510˚C, which is near the complete decomposition temperature (527˚C) of the Ti precursor (Ti(O-iPr)2(dpm)2). At 470˚C, only very thin (< 0.1μm) TiO2 film was formed because the Ti precursor was not completely decomposed. When growth temperature was increased to 550˚C and 670˚C, the nanowire formation was also significantly suppressed. A vaporsolid (V-S) growth mechanism excluding a liquid phase appeared to control the nanowire formation. The TiO2 nanowire growth seemed to be activated by carbon, which was supplied by decomposition of the Ti precursor. The TiO2 nanowire density was increased with increased growth pressure in the range of 1.2 to 10 torr. In addition, the nanowire formation was enhanced by using Au and Pt catalysts, which seem to act as catalysts for oxidation. The nanowires consisted of well-aligned ~20-30 nm size rutile and anatase nanocrystallines. This MOCVD synthesis technique is unique and efficient to self-catalytically grow TiO2 nanowires, which hold significant promise for various photocatalysis and solar cell applications.

Graphene has been effectively synthesized on Ni/SiO2/Si substrates with CH4 (1 SCCM) diluted in Ar/H2(10%) (99 SCCM) by using an inductively-coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Graphene was formed on the entire surface of the 500 nm thick Ni substrate even at 700 ˚C, although CH4 and Ar/H2 gas were supplied under plasma of 600 W for 1 second. The Raman spectrum showed typical graphene features with D, G, and 2D peaks at 1356, 1584, and 2710 cm-1, respectively. With increase of growth temperature to 900 ˚C, the ratios of the D band intensity to the G band intensity and the 2D band intensity to the G band intensity were increased and decreased, respectively. The results were strongly correlated to a rougher and coarser Ni surface due to the enhanced recrystallization process at higher temperatures. In contrast, highquality graphene was synthesized at 1000 ˚C on smooth and large Ni grains, which were formed by decreasing Ni deposition thickness to 300 nm.

We report on the light-emitting diode (LED) characteristics of core-shell CdSe/ZnS nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) embedded in TiO2thin films on a Si substrate. A simple p-n junction could be formed when nanocrystal QDs on a p-type Si substrate were embedded in ~5 nm thick TiO2 thin film, which is inherently an n-type semiconductor. The TiO2 thin film was deposited over QDs at 200˚C using plasma-enhanced metallorganic chemical vapor deposition. The LED structure of TiO2/QDs/Si showed typical p-n diode currentvoltage and electroluminescence characteristics. The colloidal core-shell CdSe/ZnS QDs were synthesized via pyrolysis in the range of 220-280˚C. Pyrolysis conditions were optimized through systematic studies as functions of synthesis temperature, reaction time, and surfactant amount.