Self-Powered Quasi-Solid-State Photoelectrochemical Photodetectors Based on MXene Paper Modified by ZnO Nanostructured Architecture

In this work, we report a self-powered quasi-solid-state photodetector (PD) device prepared from flexible two-dimensional (2D) nanocomposites of a zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO-NW) in various weight percents (5, 10, 30, 50%) and Ti3C2Tx (MXene) paper, constructed with manganese (Mn)-doped zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) using an ionic gel electrolyte and carbon paper. All PD performance tests revealed that 5% ZnO-MXene-based devices were superior to the other samples. The maximum detectivity of 1.44 × 1013 Jones at 367 nm (0.1 mW cm–2) and zero bias was calculated for the 5% ZnO-MXene-based device. Additionally, a very high on/off ratio of nearly 106, which is approximately 35-fold higher than that of the 50% ZnO-MXene-based PDs, was achieved for 5% ZnO-MXene PD at a zero bias under 367 nm (2.52 mW cm–2) illumination. The rise time for this device was 9.25 ms. Furthermore, the PD device exhibited excellent stability by enduring 1000 s of light on/off cycles. As a result, a simple, compact, and cost-effective self-powered ZnO-NW:MXene-based PD configuration showed fast photoresponse and excellent detecting performance.