Cu2O photocathodes with band-tail states assisted hole transport for standalone solar water splitting
| Autor: | Linfeng Pan, Kevin Sivula, Anders Hagfeldt, Liang Yao, Dan Ren, Yuhang Liu, Michael Grätzel |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Science Oxide General Physics and Astronomy 02 engineering and technology 010402 general chemistry 7. Clean energy 01 natural sciences deposition Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Photocathode Solar fuels efficient electrochemical synthesis chemistry.chemical_compound copper thiocyanate arrays Photocatalysis lcsh:Science Artificial photosynthesis Deposition (law) Multidisciplinary business.industry Photovoltaic system General Chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Solar energy 0104 chemical sciences Semiconductor Copper(I) thiocyanate chemistry cuscn nanorod electrodeposition Water splitting Optoelectronics layers lcsh:Q films 0210 nano-technology business |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020) Nature Communications |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | Photoelectrochemical water splitting provides a promising solution for harvesting and storing solar energy. As the best-performing oxide photocathode, the Cu2O photocathode holds the performance rivaling that of many photovoltaic semiconductor-based photocathodes through continuous research and development. However, the state-of-the-art Cu2O photocathode employs gold as the back contact which can lead to considerable electron-hole recombination. Here, we present a Cu2O photocathode with overall improved performance, enabled by using solution-processed CuSCN as hole transport material. Two types of CuSCN with different structures are synthesized and carefully compared. Furthermore, detailed characterizations reveal that hole transport between Cu2O and CuSCN is assisted by band-tail states. Owing to the multiple advantages of applying CuSCN as the hole transport layer, a standalone solar water splitting tandem cell is built, delivering a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 4.55%. Finally, approaches towards more efficient dual-absorber tandems are discussed. While solar-to-fuel conversion offers a promising technology to produce energy, device components can limit light absorption and reduce performances. Here, authors show copper thiocyanate to assist hole transport in photoelectrodes and enable a 4.55% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency in tandem devices. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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