Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994

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One-pot synthesis of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs composites with
improved photoelectrochemical performance for selective
determination of Cu
2+
Fang Xu
a
, Dandan Bai
a
, Shuyan Han
a
, Dapeng Wu
a,b
, Zhiyong Gao
a,b
, Kai Jiang
a,b,
a
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, PR China
b
Engineering Technology Research Center of Motive Power and Key Materials of Henan Province, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007,
PR China
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 22 April 2014
Received in revised form29 May 2014
Accepted 16 June 2014
Available online 22 June 2014
Keywords:
GrapheneZnxCd
1x
S QDs
Hydrothermal method
Photoelectrochemical sensor
Cu
2+
detection
a b s t r a c t
GrapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S quantum dots (QDs) hybrid materials were successfully prepared via one-step
hydrothermal method. TEM and HRTEM results proved that Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs with an average size
of 6nm were homogeneously dispersed on graphene sheets, which favorited the charge sepa-
ration and improvement of the photocurrent intensity. The controlled experiments proved that
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode with 2 mg graphene dosage exhibited the highest photocurrent at
an applied voltage of 0.2 V. Therefore, a photoelectrochemical sensor was developed to detect Cu
2+
using
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode. The sensor exhibited good selectivity and linear relationship from
1 mol dm
3
to 120 mol dm
3
with detection limit of 6.5 nmol dm
3
at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of
3.
2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Quantumdots (QDs)-based sensors for chemical and biological
detection are presently hot topics because of fast response, high
sensitivity, and versatility for spatially resolved coding or multi-
channel detection [1,2]. Many efforts have been focused on metal
sulde (MS) QDs due to their unique properties andpotential appli-
cationinelectrical, optoelectronic devices, light emitting, detecting
devices, and so on [36]. However, the tuning of physical and
chemical properties by changing the size or morphology of single-
component MS QDs is limited because they cannot meet the strict
requirements of future energy devices with their intrinsic phys-
ical properties. Therefore, semiconductor alloyed QDs combining
two or more chemical distinct components can provide multifunc-
tional or newproperties becausetheoptical properties canbetuned
over a widespectral rangebycontrollingtheir composition. Alloyed
sulde QDs have gained much attentions in photovoltaics, quan-
tum dot sensitized solar cells, photocatalytic activity, etc. [79].
CdS and ZnS are well-known IIVI semiconductors with band gaps

Corresponding author at: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan

Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan 453007, PR China. Tel.: +86 373 3326209;
fax: +86 373 3326209.
E-mail address: jiangkai6898@126.com(K. Jiang).
(E
g
) of 2.4eV and 3.5eV, respectively [10]. In terms of the band gap
and the position of band edges, CdS is favorable for visible light
absorption. However, the recombination of photogenerated elec-
trons and holes is very fast, and will decompose under prolonged
irradiation. In addition, ZnS is an interesting photoelectrochemical
material because of its high energy conversion efciency and high
electron injection efciency, although it only works under UV light
[11,12]. Therefore, ZnS is a good candidate for the development of
Zn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs alloyedmaterial. The bandgapof the Zn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs
can be tuned by changing Zn:Cd ratio, and thus, the photoelectro-
chemical properties can be varied. The newly formed energy band
can be driven by visible light rather than acting as recombination
centers. The large bandgap and wide valence bandwidth contribute
to the separation of the photogenerated carriers, and the photocor-
rosion of the material can also be reduced. Furthermore, CdS and
ZnS own the same coordination mode, and their lattice constants
at room temperature are 5.406

A and 5.835

A [13]. The low lattice
mismatch facilitates the addition of Zn
2+
into CdS lattice to form
Zn
x
Cd
1x
S alloyed QDs. The addition of ZnS to CdS will lead to an
increment in the energy gap depending on the Zn:Cd ratio, which
endows Zn
x
Cd
1x
S the most appropriate E
g
to be used as window
material in photoelectrochemical cell [14,15].
Although QDs help to chemically couple to additional moieties,
such as biomolecules or inorganic ions, QDs are not stable and
prone to aggregate due to large active surface area. Numerous
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2014.06.059
0925-4005/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
90 F. Xu et al. / Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994
hybrids of QDs with semiconductor or metal have been developed,
which results in high efcient separation of electronhole pairs
and photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion efciency [1619]. It
is well known that graphene has a great potential for developing
graphene-based hybrids as a nanoscale building block due to its
high specic surface area, zero band gap and high electron mobility
[2022]. The grapheneQDs composites not only take advantages
of the superior properties of graphene and QDs, but also lead to
somespecial novel properties throughthecombinationof graphene
with QDs. It has been reported that the photocurrent of Zn
x
Cd
1x
S-
reducedgraphene is ve times comparedtobare CdS nanoparticles,
which is benecial for PEC detection of Cu
2+
[23]. Copper, pro-
duced by corrosion of household plumbing and erosion of natural
deposits, is an essential micronutrient for biological functions and
plays an important role in various physiological processes in orga-
nisms [24]. However, excessive intake of copper might produce
reactive oxygen species, and cause gastrointestinal disturbance,
neurodegenerative diseases, and even damage to the liver and kid-
neys [25]. Therefore, Cu
2+
detection is urgently needed in the elds
of environmental protection and human health.
In this paper, Zn
x
Cd
1x
S (x =01) alloyed QDs decorated
graphene nanosheets were prepared via one-step hydrothermal
approach. The optimal composition of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
alloyed QDs exhibits the highest photocurrent intensity under sim-
ulated solar light irradiation. Furthermore, grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
alloyedQDs were usedas a PECsensor for the detectionof Cu
2+
, and
the sensor showed rapid, wide detecting range and high selectivity
for Cu
2+
detection.
2. Experimental details
2.1. Synthesis of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S nanocomposites
Graphiteoxide(GO) was preparedfromnatural graphitepowder
using modied Hummers method [26,27]. GrapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S
composites were synthesized via one-step hydrothermal method.
In detail, GO was dispersed in 70mL water by ultrasonication
to yield GO dispersions. Cd(CH
3
COO)
2
2H
2
O, Zn(CH
3
COO)
2
2H
2
O,
thiourea andPAAwere addedandstirredfor 30min. Finally, 2mL of
ammonia (28wt% in water) was added and pH was tuned to 9. The
obtained suspension was transferred into a polytetrauoroethy-
lene (PTFE)-lined stainless-steel autoclave (100mL) and heated at
180

C for 6h. The black product was collected and washed repeat-
edly using distilled water and ethanol, and was then dried under
vacuum at 60

C for 24h. For comparison, grapheneZn

x
Cd
1x
S
(x =01.0) hybrid composites with different Zn:Cd ratio were pre-
pared.
2.2. Fabrication of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs/ITO electrode
Indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass akes (2cm1.5cm)
were treated by sonication respectively in absolute acetone, abso-
lute ethanol and distilled water for several times. Then, 50mg of
grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S nanocomposites were dispersed in 5mL of
ethanol, and grounded in an agate mortar to form viscous slurry.
Finally, the slurry was dropped onto a piece of ITO glass by doctor
blading method withxed size and thickness of 1cm
2
and 10m.
2.3. Characterization and photoelectrochemical measurements
X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns were recorded on an advance-
D8 (Bruker) diffractometer with Cu K radiation (=0.154178

A).
The structure and morphology were observed on a high-resolution
transmission electron microscope (HRTEM; FEI Tecnai G220).
UVvis diffuse reectance spectra (DRS) of the samples were
obtainedfroma Perkin-Elmer Lambda 35UVvis spectrometer, and
Fig. 1. XRD patterns of grapheneZnxCd
1x
S alloyed QDs with x values of 0 (a), 0.2
(b), 0.4 (c), 0.6 (d), 0.8 (e), 1.0 (f) and GO (g).
BaSO
4
was used as reectance standard. Energy dispersion spec-
troscopy (EDS) and Fourier transforminfrared spectroscopy (FTIR,
FTS-40) were also performed. Electrochemical impedance spec-
troscopy(EIS) was recordedina 0.1MKCl solutioncontaining5mM
K
3
Fe(CN)
6
/K
4
Fe(CN)
6
(1:1) with a frequency range of 0.110
5
Hz at
0.2V, the amplitude of the applied sine wave potential was 5mV.
The photoelectrochemical properties of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S
composites were investigated with a homemade photoelectro-
chemical system. A 500W Xe lamp was used as the irradiation
source. Photocurrent was measured on a CHI 660D electrochem-
ical workstation (Shanghai Chenhua, China) with a standard three
electrode systemin 0.1Mphosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Characterization of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S composites
The phase and structural information of grapheneCd
x
Zn
1x
S
nanocomposites were employed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) mea-
surements. Fig. 1 shows the XRD patterns of as-prepared GO and
grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S hybrid materials with different x values. The
peaks of the pristine GO (curve g) (2 =11.3

) correspond to the
(001) reection of graphite oxide [28]. The diffraction peaks of
grapheneCdS (x =0, curve a) are well indexed to a pure cubic
wurtzite CdS phase (JCPDS No. 42-1411) with the three prominent
diffraction peaks corresponding to (111), (220) and (311) planes.
In addition, the diffraction peaks of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S hybrid
materials (x =0.20.8, curve be) correspond to cubic wurtzite
structure of CdS. It can also be found that the increment of Zn
composition (x) in grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S leads to positional shifts
of the diffraction peaks toward higher scattering angles, indicat-
ing the decrease in lattice spacing for Zn
x
Cd
1x
S alloyed QDs,
which results from the replacement of some cadmium atoms in
CdS by zinc atom with smaller radius [10]. The continuous peak
shift clearly indicates no separated phase and nucleation of ZnS or
CdS nanoparticles in the formation of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S alloyed
QDs [29]. When x increased to 1.0 (grapheneZnS), the diffraction
peaks (curve f) agree with the crystal lattice values of ZnS phase
(JCPDS No. 77-2100). Moreover, the broadening of the diffraction
peaks is ascribed to the small crystallite size of the nanoparticles.
Besides, no diffraction peaks of GO and graphene can be found in
grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S, indicating the lowamount andrelatively low
diffraction intensity of graphene.
The morphology and size of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
were depicted by TEM and HRTEM. The TEM image of
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S shown in Fig. 2A indicates that Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
QDs are attached and spread uniformly on the graphene sheets.
As shown in Fig. 2B, the HRTEM image of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
reveals that the average diameter is around 4nm. The lattice
F. Xu et al. / Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994 91
Fig. 2. (A) TEMimage, (B) HRTEMimageof grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
SalloyedQDs; (C) TEMimageof Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
SalloyedQDs; (D) FTIRspectra of GO(a) and(b) grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S
alloyed QDs.
fringes with interplanar distance of 0.32nm can be assigned to
the (111) plane of cubic CdS. For comparison, pure Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs
prepared through the same method without GO agglomerate and
stack randomly together (Fig. 2C). Therefore, it can be supposed
that the reduction of GO and the deposition of Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs on
graphene occur simultaneously. Accompanied with the reduction
of GO, graphene sheet plays an important role as support material
in assisting the growth and dispersion of the Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs on
graphene surface. In the meantime, the Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S decoration
helps to prevent the aggregation of graphene sheets. Fig. 2D shows
the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of GO and
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs in the range of 4000500cm
1
. The
characteristic bands of GO are observed at 3400cm
1
(stretching
vibration of OH groups), 1717cm
1
(C O vibration of COOH),
and 1623cm
1
(epoxide groups and skeletal ring vibrations). For
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs, the representative adsorption bands
of GO nearly disappeared, and other peaks of oxygen-containing
functional groups (such as C O, at 1717cm
1
) reduced sig-
nicantly. The results indicate that GO is reduced to graphene.
Simultaneously, the skeletal vibration absorption peak of graphene
is observed at 1550cm
1
, conrming the recovery of the sp
2
hybrid carbon skeleton [30,31].
The UVvis diffuse reectance spectra (DRS) and energy band
gap (E
g
) values of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S are displayed in Fig. 3. It
can be seen that the grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S has intense absorption
bands with steep edges in the visible light region, which indicates
that the visible light absorption is ascribed to the transition from
the valence band to conduction band but not to the transition
from the impurity levels to the conduction band [32]. Moreover,
the E
g
value is calculated from the equation of (ahv)
2
=C(hv E
g
),
where hv is the photon energy, A is the absorption coefcient, and
C is a constant. The E
g
of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S (x =00.8) calcu-
lated from the UVvis DRS increased from 2.3eV (x =0) to 2.7eV
(x =0.8), indicating the band gap depends on the Zn:Cd ratio. As x
increased to 1.0, the band gap increased to 3.6eV. Moreover, the
band gap of grapheneCdS (2.3eV) and grapheneZnS (3.6eV) are
narrower than those of CdS and ZnS nanoparticles. The results indi-
cate the formation of a chemical bond between Zn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs and
graphene [33].
3.2. Photoelectrochemical measurements
The photocurrent of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs/ITO electrodes
withdifferent Zn:Cd ratio measured at 0.2Vis shownin Fig. 4A. The
photocurrent of Zn
x
Cd
1x
Sgraphene increases when x increases
from 0 to 0.2, and the photocurrent experiences a slight drop at
0.4 and 0.6. Interesting, the photocurrent reaches to the highest
as x equals 0.8. However, when x increases to 1.0 (grapheneZnS),
the photocurrent decreases abruptly and reaches lowest value. The
different photoelectrochemical activities of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S
Fig. 3. UVvis DRS of grapheneZnxCd
1x
S alloyed QDs with x values of 0 (a), 0.2
(b), 0.4 (c), 0.6 (d), 0.8 (e), and 1.0 (f). The inset is the calculated band gap of
grapheneZnxCd
1x
S alloyed QDs.
92 F. Xu et al. / Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994
Fig. 4. (A) Photocurrent density and (B) EIS of grapheneZnxCd
1x
S/ITO (x =01.0) electrode with applied voltage of 0.2V in 0.1 MPBS (pH 7); (C) photocurrent density of
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode with different graphene dosage; (D) time based photocurrent response of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode in 0.1MPBS under visible
irradiation repeated every 15s.
should be attributed to the different band gap and electron injec-
tion ability. The conduction band of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S consists
of hybridized Zn 4s4p with Cd 5s5p. The position of conduction
band becomes more positive with the increment of Zn, which is
advantageous to enhance the electron injection ability and disad-
vantageous for visible light absorption [34]. So, a balance between
the increment of visible light absorptionandelectroninjectionabil-
ity could be achieved [35]. The highest photocurrent intensity of
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S alloyed QDs results from its optimum band
gap and electron injection ability. The results indicate that when
x is 0.8, the grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S/ITO photoelectrode exhibits the
best photoelectrochemical activities, whichis the most appropriate
windowmaterial for photoelectrochemical cell.
Fig. 4B shows the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
(EIS) of grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S/ITOphotoelectrode whichcarried out
using K
3
Fe(CN)
6
/K
4
Fe(CN)
6
as a redox probe. As x increases from
0 to 0.2, the resistance increases, and then decreases when x
increases to 0.4. Further, when x increases to 0.6 and 0.8, resis-
tance decreases and reaches the smallest value when x is 0.8. The
resistance reaches the highest value when x is 1.0. The results are
consistent with the results reported in Fig. 4A. The results prove
that grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S exhibits the smallest resistance, which
is essential to gain rather high photoelectrochemical activities.
Fig. 4C is the photocurrent of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs with
different dosage of graphene. As the dosage of GO increases from
0 to 2mg, photocurrent increases from 2.8 to 8.9A/cm
2
, and
decreases to 5.5A/cm
2
as the dosage of GO increases fur-
ther to 3 and 5mg. At a rather lower ratio of GO, photocurrent
increases with the increment of GO because the introduction of
graphene facilitates the electron transport efciently and sup-
presses the recombination of electronhole pairs. On the contrary,
graphene has strong light adsorption which can shield active sites
of Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S surface, and then decreases the light absorption due
to the shielding effect [36].
Fig. 4D shows the photoelectrochemical stability of
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode. The photocurrent was
repeatedly measured at 15s intervals under simulated solar
irradiation, and the photocurrent response intensity did not show
obvious change after 600s. The results indicate that the photo-
current of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode is very stable and
suitable for the construction of PEC sensor.
3.3. Photoelectrochemical detection of Cu
2+
Given the excellent photocurrent response,
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs are ideal candidate materials for
photoelectrochemical sensing of Cu
2+
, which is an essential ele-
ment for many living organisms but toxic at high concentrations.
Fig. 5A is the photocurrent of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode
with existence of Cu
2+
. The photocurrent response gradually
decreased with the increment of Cu
2+
concentration. Based on
this, a novel and sensitive PEC sensor is developed. A good linear
relationship is found (Fig. 5B) between the photocurrent decrease
(I
0
I) and the concentration of Cu
2+
ranges from 1mol dm
3
to
120mol dm
3
, which is beyond the upper guideline levels for
copper in drinking water legislated by various governments (the
EUstandard is 30mol dm
3
) [37,38]. I
0
and I are the photocurrent
intensities of the grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S nanocomposites in the
absence and presence of Cu
2+
, respectively. The linear regression
equation was (I
0
I) (A) =0.0725+0.234C Cu
2+
(mol dm
3
)
with a correlation coefcient of 0.9992. The detection limit is
6nmol dm
3
at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of 3. The results are
satised compared with uorescent sensor and surface plasmon
resonance (SPR) sensor [3942].
The possible mechanism for the determination of Cu
2+
via PEC
method is shown in Fig. 5C. When there is no Cu
2+
, photogenera-
ted electrons transfer from valence band (VB) to the conduction
band (CB) of Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs under visible irradiation. Then,
F. Xu et al. / Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994 93
Fig. 5. (A) Photocurrent intensity of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode in the presence of different Cu
2+
concentrations: 0M (a), 1M (b), 10M (c), 30M (d), 60M
(e), 100M(f), 120M(g); (B) plot of (I
0
I) versus Cu
2+
concentration on grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode.
photogeneratedelectrons intheCBtransfer tographeneandthento
ITO, which is energetically favorable process [43,44]. When Cu
2+
is
added, Cu
2+
can be bind with S
2
and be reduced to Cu
+
under irra-
diation. Conclusively, Cu
x
S (x =1, 2) formed on Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S surface
due to the chemical displacement of surface Cd
2+
by Cu
2+
and Cu
+
resulting fromthe lower solubility of Cu
x
S than that of Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S.
Moreover, the formation of Cu
x
S on the Zn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S surface gen-
erates a lower energy level that provides effective recombination
centers of photogenerated carriers. Therefore, the photocurrent
intensity of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S decreases withexistence of Cu
2+
.
EDS spectra shown in Fig. 5D proves the existence of Cu on
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode.
The selectivity of the grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode is
investigated by measuring PEC response of other metal ions
Fig. 6. Photocurrent intensityof grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITOelectrodeinthepresence
of 30Mof various metal ions.
(Na
+
, K
+
, Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, Mn
2+
, Hg
+
, Ba
2+
, Fe
2+
, Co
2+
, Ni
2+
, Pb
2+
, Ag
+
)
with concentration of 30M on the photocurrent intensity of
grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode. As shown in Fig. 6, only
weaker current changes can be induced for other metal ions. The
results indicate that the PEC sensor is much more sensitive to
Cu
2+
than other metal ions, proving high selectivity in detec-
ting Cu
2+
. Thus, based on the sensitive and selective effect of
Cu
2+
on the photocurrent intensity of grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO
electrode, a sensitive photoelectrochemical Cu
2+
sensor is
developed.
4. Conclusions
In summary, grapheneZn
x
Cd
1x
S QDs (x =01) were pre-
paredvia one-stephydrothermal method. The experimental results
proved grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs exhibited the highest photo-
current density with graphene dosage of 2mg at an applied voltage
of 0.2V. Then, grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S/ITO electrode was used as
PEC sensing platform to detect Cu
2+
. The PEC sensor exhibited
good selectivity and linear relationship from 1M to 120M
with detection limit of 6.5nM at a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of
3. The grapheneZn
0.8
Cd
0.2
S QDs also show promising applica-
tions intheelds of photoelectrochemical sensingandphotovoltaic
cell.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of
China (Nos. 61176004, 61204078, U1304505), Program for Inno-
vative Research Team (in Science and Technology) in University
of Henan Province (No. 13IRTSTHN026), and the Key Project of
94 F. Xu et al. / Sensors and Actuators B 203 (2014) 8994
Science and Technology of Henan Province (Nos. 122102210561,
13A150517, 14A150002).
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Biographies
Fang Xuhas beenanassociatedprofessor of School of Chemistry andChemical Engi-
neering, Henan Normal University, China since 2013. She received a Ph.D. degree
in School of Materials Science and Engineering from University of Science and
Technology Beijing. The main research interests of Fang Xu are the synthesis and
photoelectrochemical properties of semiconductor micro/nanomaterials, carbon-
based composite, etc.
DandanBai is anMS candidateintheSchool of ChemistryandChemical Engineering,
Henan Normal University, China. Her main research interests are the synthesis of
graphene-based quantumdots and the application in photoelectrochemical sensor.
Shuyan Han is a bachelor candidate in the School of Chemistry and Chemical
Engineering, Henan Normal University, China. Her main research interests are the
synthesis and characterization of graphene-based composite.
DapengWuis anassociatedprofessor inthe School of Chemistry andChemical Engi-
neering, Henan Normal University, PR China. He received a Ph.D. degree in School of
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University. His main research
interests are the design and fabrication of materials in nanoscale for the application
in energy conversion and storage.
Zhiyong Gao is an associated professor in the School of Chemistry and Chemical
Engineering, Henan Normal University, PR China. He received a Ph.D. degree from
Xiamen University. His main research interests are the uorescence and electro-
chemical properties of carbon quantumdots, metal oxide, etc.
Kai Jiang is a professor in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan
Normal University, PRChina. The mainresearchinterests of Prof. Jiang are solar cells,
and green synthesis of nanomaterials.