Artificial photosystems are advanced by the development of conformal catalytic materials that promote desired chemical transformations, while also maintaining stability and minimizing parasitic light ...absorption for integration on surfaces of semiconductor light absorbers. Here, we demonstrate that multifunctional, nanoscale catalysts that enable high-performance photoelectrochemical energy conversion can be engineered by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. The collective properties of tailored Co
O
/Co(OH)
thin films simultaneously provide high activity for water splitting, permit efficient interfacial charge transport from semiconductor substrates, and enhance durability of chemically sensitive interfaces. These films comprise compact and continuous nanocrystalline Co
O
spinel that is impervious to phase transformation and impermeable to ions, thereby providing effective protection of the underlying substrate. Moreover, a secondary phase of structurally disordered and chemically labile Co(OH)
is introduced to ensure a high concentration of catalytically active sites. Application of this coating to photovoltaic p
n-Si junctions yields best reported performance characteristics for crystalline Si photoanodes.
Laboratory demonstrations of spontaneous photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar water splitting cells are reviewed. Reported solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiencies range from <1% to 18%. The ...demonstrations are categorized by the number of photovoltaic junctions employed (2 or 3), photovoltaic junction type (solid–solid or solid–liquid) and the ability of the systems to produce separated reaction product streams. Demonstrations employing two photovoltaic (PV) junctions have the highest reported efficiencies of 12.4% and 18%, which are for cells that, respectively, do and do not contain a semiconductor–liquid junction. These devices used PV components based on III–V semiconductors; recently, a number of demonstrations with >10% STH efficiency using potentially less costly materials have been reported. Device stability is a major challenge for the field, as evidenced by lifetimes of less than 24 hours in all but a few reports. No globally accepted protocol for evaluating and certifying STH efficiencies and lifetimes exists. It is our recommendation that a protocol similar to that used by the photovoltaic community be adopted so that future demonstrations of solar PEC water splitting can be compared on equal grounds.
Photoelectrochemical water splitting is a promising approach for renewable production of hydrogen from solar energy and requires interfacing advanced water-splitting catalysts with semiconductors. ...Understanding the mechanism of function of such electrocatalysts at the atomic scale and under realistic working conditions is a challenging, yet important, task for advancing efficient and stable function. This is particularly true for the case of oxygen evolution catalysts and, here, we study a highly active Co3O4/Co(OH)2 biphasic electrocatalyst on Si by means of operando ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy performed at the solid/liquid electrified interface. Spectral simulation and multiplet fitting reveal that the catalyst undergoes chemical-structural transformations as a function of the applied anodic potential, with complete conversion of the Co(OH)2 and partial conversion of the spinel Co3O4 phases to CoO(OH) under precatalytic electrochemical conditions. Furthermore, we observe new spectral features in both Co 2p and O 1s core-level regions to emerge under oxygen evolution reaction conditions on CoO(OH). The operando photoelectron spectra support assignment of these newly observed features to highly active Co4+ centers under catalytic conditions. Comparison of these results to those from a pure phase spinel Co3O4 catalyst supports this interpretation and reveals that the presence of Co(OH)2 enhances catalytic activity by promoting transformations to CoO(OH). The direct investigation of electrified interfaces presented in this work can be extended to different materials under realistic catalytic conditions, thereby providing a powerful tool for mechanism discovery and an enabling capability for catalyst design.
Hybrid organic–inorganic halide perovskite based semiconductor materials are attractive for use in a wide range of optoelectronic devices because they combine the advantages of suitable ...optoelectronic attributes and simultaneously low-cost solution processability. Here, we present a two-step low-pressure vapor-assisted solution process to grow high quality homogeneous CH3NH3PbI3–x Br x perovskite films over the full band gap range of 1.6–2.3 eV. Photoluminescence light-in versus light-out characterization techniques are used to provide new insights into the optoelectronic properties of Br-containing hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites as a function of optical carrier injection by employing pump-powers over a 6 orders of magnitude dynamic range. The internal luminescence quantum yield of wide band gap perovskites reaches impressive values up to 30%. This high quantum yield translates into substantial quasi-Fermi level splitting and high “luminescence or optically implied” open-circuit voltage. Most importantly, both attributes, high internal quantum yield and high optically implied open-circuit voltage, are demonstrated over the entire band gap range (1.6 eV ≤ E g ≤ 2.3 eV). These results establish the versatility of Br-containing perovskite semiconductors for a variety of applications and especially for the use as high-quality top cell in tandem photovoltaic devices in combination with industry dominant Si bottom cells.
Abstract
While self-healing is considered a promising strategy to achieve long-term stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, this strategy remains a challenge for OER catalysts ...working in highly alkaline conditions. The self-healing of the OER-active nickel iron layered double hydroxides (NiFe-LDH) has not been successful due to irreversible leaching of Fe catalytic centers. Here, we investigate the introduction of cobalt (Co) into the NiFe-LDH as a promoter for in situ Fe redeposition. An active borate-intercalated NiCoFe-LDH catalyst is synthesized using electrodeposition and shows no degradation after OER tests at 10 mA cm
−2
at pH 14 for 1000 h, demonstrating its self-healing ability under harsh OER conditions. Importantly, the presence of both ferrous ions and borate ions in the electrolyte is found to be crucial to the catalyst’s self-healing. Furthermore, the implementation of this catalyst in photoelectrochemical devices is demonstrated with an integrated silicon photoanode. The self-healing mechanism leads to a self-limiting catalyst thickness, which is ideal for integration with photoelectrodes since redeposition is not accompanied by increased parasitic light absorption.
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has received growing attention as a potential pathway to replace fossil fuels and produce a clean, renewable, and sustainable source of fuel. To achieve ...overall water splitting and the associated production of solar fuels, complex devices are needed to efficiently capture light from the sun, separate photogenerated charges, and catalyze reduction and oxidation reactions. To date, the highest performing solar fuels devices rely on multi-component systems, which introduce interfaces that can be associated with further performance loss due to thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. In this review, we identify several of the most important interfaces used in PEC water splitting, summarize methods to characterize them, and highlight approaches to mitigating associated loss mechanisms.
Theoretical and practical aspects of solid-solid and solid-liquid interfaces for photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices are discussed.
Photocatalytic water splitting using particulate semiconductors is a potentially scalable and economically feasible technology for converting solar energy into hydrogen. Z-scheme systems based on ...two-step photoexcitation of a hydrogen evolution photocatalyst (HEP) and an oxygen evolution photocatalyst (OEP) are suited to harvesting of sunlight because semiconductors with either water reduction or oxidation activity can be applied to the water splitting reaction. However, it is challenging to achieve efficient transfer of electrons between HEP and OEP particles. Here, we present photocatalyst sheets based on La- and Rh-codoped SrTiO3 (SrTiO3:La, Rh; ref. ) and Mo-doped BiVO4 (BiVO4:Mo) powders embedded into a gold (Au) layer. Enhancement of the electron relay by annealing and suppression of undesirable reactions through surface modification allow pure water (pH 6.8) splitting with a solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of 1.1% and an apparent quantum yield of over 30% at 419 nm. The photocatalyst sheet design enables efficient and scalable water splitting using particulate semiconductors.
Monoclinic scheelite bismuth vanadate (m-BiVO4) is a promising semiconductor photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Despite considerable recent progress in achieving improved ...photocurrents and photovoltages, there remain open questions about the basic optoelectronic properties of this material. Indeed, there is disagreement about the nature of its fundamental bandgap, with theoretical predictions and some experimental observations pointing to an indirect bandgap and other experimental studies to a direct bandgap. Knowledge of this property is critical for understanding light absorption and photocarrier properties, as well as for establishing rational approaches to improved efficiency. Here, experimental spectroscopic techniques are used to resolve this issue and provide a fundamental portrait of the optical properties of the material. Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering proves conclusively that m-BiVO4 is an indirect bandgap semiconductor. These measurements are supported by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry, which confirm this finding and also indicate the presence of a direct transition located at 200 meV above the indirect one. The spectral dependence of the optical constants is determined by development of a photophysical model for the ellipsometric data. Photogenerated carrier dynamics are probed by transient absorption spectroscopy, which reveals a relatively long lifetime compared to other commonly utilized metal oxide photoanodes and is attributed to the indirect nature of the fundamental gap. The combination of strong visible light absorption and relatively long excited state lifetime provides the basis for the high performance that has been achieved from BiVO4 photoanodes for water splitting.
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