Ion‐Exchange Synthesis of ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe Core/Shell Heterostructured Nanowire Photoanodes toward High‐Performance Photocathodic Protection of 304 Stainless Steel

Photocathodic protection technology is emerging to harvest solar light for electrochemical corrosion protection of metals. Herein, ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe heterostructured nanowire arrays were synthesized on conductive glass substrates by a two‐step ion‐exchange reaction in ZnO nanowire arrays. The as‐prepared ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe core/shell nanostructure was unveiled by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDAX elemental mapping, and XPS analyses. The ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe ternary heterojunction photoanode exhibits a considerably enhanced absorption for visible light and a significantly increased separation, transfer, and collection efficiencies for photogenerated charges. When working as photoanodes, the as‐deigned ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe heterostructured nanowire arrays demonstrates a superior photocathodic protection performance for the coupled 304 stainless steel under illumination with AM 1.5G. Photocathodic protection is promising to harvest solar light for corrosion protection of metals. Benefiting from a considerably enhanced absorption for visible light and a significantly increased transfer efficiency for photogenerated charges, the as‐prepared ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe photoanode exhibits a superior photocathodic protection performance for the coupled 304 stainless steel under illumination.