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The construction of photocatalytic systems that have strong redox capability, effective charge separation, and large reactive surfaces is of great scientific and practical interest. Herein, an edge‐connected 2D/2D Z‐scheme system that combines the facet junction and the interfacial heterojunction to achieve effective long‐range charge separation and large reactive surface exposure is designed and fabricated. The heterostructure is realized by the selective growth of 2D‐layered MoS2 nanoflakes on the edge‐sites of thin TiO2 nanosheets via an Au‐promoted photodeposition method. Attributed to the synergetic coupling of the facet junction and the interfacial heterojunction that assures the effective charge separation, and the tremendous but physically separated reactive sites offered by layered MoS2 and highly‐exposed (001) facets of TiO2, respectively, the artificial Z‐scheme exhibits excellent photocatalytic performance in photodegradation tests. Moreover, the junctional plasmonic Au nanoclusters not only act as electron traps to promote the edge‐selective synthesis but also generate "hot electrons" to further boost photocatalytic performance. The Z‐scheme charge‐flow direction in the heterostructure and the roles of electrons and holes are comprehensively studied using in situ irradiated X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photodegradation tests. This work offers a new insight into designing high‐performance Z‐scheme photocatalytic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The valence and conduction band offsets (VBO and CBO) at the semiconductor heterojunction are crucial parameters to design the active region of contemporary electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this report, to study the band alignment parameters at the In0.15Al0.85N/MoS2 lattice matched heterointerface, large area MoS2 single layers are chemical vapor deposited on molecular beam epitaxial grown In0.15Al0.85N films and vice versa. We grew InAlN having an in-plane lattice parameter closely matching with that of MoS2. We confirm that the grown MoS2 is a single layer from optical and structural analyses using micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. The band offset parameters VBO and CBO at the In0.15Al0.85N/MoS2 heterojunction are determined to be 2.0860.15 and 0.6060.15 eV, respectively, with type-I band alignment using high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in conjunction with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, we design a MoS2 quantum well structure by growing an In0.15Al0.85N layer on MoS2/In0.15Al0.85N type-I heterostructure. By reducing the nitrogen plasma power and flow rate for the overgrown In0.15Al0.85N layers, we achieve unaltered structural properties and a reasonable preservation of photoluminescence intensity with a peak width of 70 meV for MoS2 quantum well (QW). The investigation provides a pathway towards realizing large area, air-stable, lattice matched, and eventual high efficiency In0.15Al0.85N/ MoS2/In0.15Al0.85N QW-based light emitting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the band alignment parameters of the GaN/single-layer (SL) MoS2 heterostructure where the GaN thin layer is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on CVD deposited SL-MoS2/c-sapphire. We confirm that the MoS2 is an SL by measuring the separation and position of room temperature micro- Raman E2g1 and Ag1 modes, absorbance, and micro-photoluminescence bandgap studies. This is in good agreement with HRTEM cross-sectional analysis. The determination of band offset parameters at the GaN/SL-MoS2 heterojunction is carried out by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy accompanying with electronic bandgap values of SL-MoS2 and GaN. The valence band and conduction band offset values are, respectively, measured to be 1.86±0.08 and 0.56±0.1 eV with type II band alignment. The determination of these unprecedented band offset parameters opens up a way to integrate 3D group III nitride materials with 2D transition metal dichalcogenide layers for designing and modeling of their heterojunction based electronic and photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and low-temperature (125 °C) solution-processed Al-doped ZnO (AZO) buffer layer functioning very effectively as electron accepting/hole blocking layer for a wide range of polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction systems, yielding power conversion efficiency in excess of 10% (8%) on glass (plastic) substrates is described. The ammonia-treatment of the aqueous AZO nanoparticle solution produces compact, crystalline, and smooth thin films, which retain the aluminum doping, and eliminates/reduces the native defects by nitrogen incorporation, making them good electron transporters and energetically matched with the fullerene acceptor. It is demonstrated that highly efficient solar cells can be achieved without the need for additional surface chemical modifications of the buffer layer, which is a common requirement for many metal oxide buffer layers to yield efficient solar cells. Also highly efficient solar cells are achieved with thick AZO films (>50 nm), highlighting the suitability of this material for roll-to-roll coating. Preliminary results on the applicability of AZO as electron injection layer in F8BT-based polymer light emitting diode are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]