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Hydrogen generation efficiency and stability of the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) water splitting relate closely to the crystallinity and the interface structure of the photoanodes. Here we demonstrated a feasible strategy for improving the cystallinity and interface quality of the ZnO/CdS nanoheterojunction arrays (NHAs) via CdCl 2 -assisting post-treatment. CdCl 2 treatment was found to promote the recrystallization and densification of the CdS shell layer, the formation of the Zn x Cd 1-x S intermediate layer between ZnO and CdS, and the creation of an intermediate band (IB) in the forbidden band of CdS due to the high-density Cl S states. Meanwhile, the annealing temperature was also lowered from 550 °C to 430 °C with the assistance of CdCl 2 treatment. These improvements facilitate the seperation and transport of the photogenerated carriers and extends the light absorption range, resulting in extremely enhanced photocatalytic current and stability. Consequently, the photocatalytic currency reaches to 22 mA cm −2 under the 100 mW cm −2 illumination with the xenon lamp (λ > 420 nm), which is nearly two times larger than that annealed solely at 550 °C but without CdCl 2 treatment. The photocatalytic current remains 92% of the initial value after 20-h photocatalytic test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CdTe films were electrochemically deposited from an alkaline solution with the assistance of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). CdTe film prepared at the complexing ratio of 14 : 1 was well-crystallized and highly (111)-oriented; after annealing, it was free of voids with good interface contact. The deposition is demonstrated to occur via UPD mechanism. TMAH prevented the introduction of alkaline metal ions into CdTe films. This provides a novel approach for depositing CdTe films at the lower temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]