Great expectations for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Michael Graetzel, Stanley David Tilley
Elsevier Science Bv, 2012
Conference paper

The first Bilateral Energy Conference-organized jointly by the E-MRS and MRS-was held at the E-MRS Spring Meeting this year and included the first symposium to appear in Europe dedicated to solar hydrogen production. The strong turnout and high level of interest that was expressed in this symposium bodes well for the future of this exciting and important field. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of European Material Research Society (E-MRS)

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Michael Graetzel, Stanley David Tilley
Elsevier Science Bv, 2012
Conference paper

Abstract

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https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/184640?ln=en

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Tin oxide as stable protective layer for composite cuprous oxide water-splitting photocathodes

Matthew Thomas Mayer, Marcel Roland Schreier, Morgan Mertens Stefik, Stanley David Tilley

For a sustainable future, efficient solar energy harvesting and storage is required. Solar hydrogen production from photoelectrochemical water splitting is a promising technology and, in particular, cuprous oxide photocathodes are interesting photoelectrodes due to their high efficiency and low cost. However, chemical instability inhibits practical application of such devices. This work reports a novel strategy for protecting cuprous oxide from photocorrosion, wherein a thin SnO2 overlayer enables increased stability over previous reports utilizing TiO2 protective layers. Performance and stability are influenced by the film thickness, post-deposition steam treatment, and the nature of the heterojunction interface. Stability over 57 h of sustained photoelectrochemical water reduction, maintaining 90% of initial photocurrent, is achieved. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elsevier Science Bv2016

All Solution-Processed, Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Photocathode for Hydrogen Evolution

Matthew Thomas Mayer, Marcel Roland Schreier

Nowadays, the efficient, stable, and scalable conversion of solar energy into chemical fuels represents a great scientific, economic, and ethical challenge. Amongst the available candidate technologies, photoelectrochemical water splitting potentially has the most promising technoeconomic trade-off between cost and efficiency. However, research on semiconductors and photoelectrode architectures suitable for H-2 evolution has focused mainly on the use of fabrication techniques and inorganic materials that are not easily scalable. Here, we report for the first time an all solution-processed approach for the fabrication of hybrid organic/inorganic photocathodes based on organic semiconductor bulk heterojunctions that exhibit promising photoelectrochemical performance. The sequential deposition of inorganic material, charge-selective contacts, visible-light sensitive organic polymers, and earth-abundant, nonprecious catalyst by spin coating leads to state-of-the-art photoelectrochemical parameters, comprising a high onset potential [+ 0.602 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE)] and a positive maximum power point (+0.222 V vs RHE), a photocurrent density as high as 5.25 mA/cm(2) at 0 V versus RHE, an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency at 0 V versus RHE of above 35%, and 100% faradaic efficiency for hydrogen production. The demonstrated all solution-processed hybrid photoelectrodes represent an eligible candidate for the scalable and low-cost solar-to-H-2 conversion technology that embodies the feasibility requirements for large area, plant-scale applications.

Amer Chemical Soc2017