Incorporation of both metal nanoparticles and a polymer layer is proposed to benefit charge transport in a semiconductor in the absence of electron and hole scavengers. Therefore in this work, zinc oxide is deposited with platinum metal and a layer of polymeric species via a photocatalytic route: platinum cation photoreduction and phenol photooxidative polymerization which utilize photogenerated electrons and holes of ZnO, respectively. The photoelectrochemical performances of these photocatalysts follow the order of Poly/Pt/ZnO > Pt/ZnO > bare ZnO, revealing the effectiveness of both the platinum and polymer in enhancing charge separation within ZnO. Although platinum is known to be an excellent electron sink for promoting electron transfer, the performance of Pt/ZnO was limited by the transport of holes to the ZnO surface for oxidation reactions. Thus, the polymer layer plays an important role in facilitating hole transport, resulting in the enhanced performance of Poly/Pt/ZnO.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	nanoparticles, zinc oxide, catalysis, photoelectrochemistry, polymer coating
Research Division:	Chemical Sciences
Research Group:	Physical chemistry
Research Field:	Catalysis and mechanisms of reactions
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the chemical sciences
UTAS Author:	Thickett, SC (Dr Stuart Thickett)
ID Code:	115110
Year Published:	2017
Web of Science® Times Cited:	9
Deposited By:	Chemistry
Deposited On:	2017-03-08
Last Modified:	2018-03-22
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