Solar water splitting with a composite silicon/metal oxide semiconductor electrode

Yoshihiro Nakato; Naoaki Kato; Akihito Imanishi; Takashi Sugiura; Shunsuke Ogawa; Norimitsu Yoshida; Shuichi Nonomura

doi:10.1117/12.681980

8 September 2006 Solar water splitting with a composite silicon/metal oxide semiconductor electrode

Yoshihiro Nakato, Naoaki Kato, Akihito Imanishi, Takashi Sugiura, Shunsuke Ogawa, Norimitsu Yoshida, Shuichi Nonomura

Proceedings Volume 6340, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology; 63400U (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.681980
Event: SPIE Optics + Photonics, 2006, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We have studied solar water splitting with a composite semiconductor electrode, composed of an n-i-p junction amorphous silicon (a-Si, E_g≈ 1.7 eV) layer, an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer, and a tungsten trioxide (WO₃, E_g 2.8 eV) particulate layer. The n-i-p a-Si layer, which had more accurately a structure of n-type microcrystalline ( c) 3C-SiC:H (25 nm)/i-type a-Si:H (400 nm)/p-type a-SiC_x:H (25 nm), was prepared on a TiO₂-covered F-doped SnO₂ (FTO)/glass plate by a Hot-Wire CVD method. The ITO layer (100 nm thick) was deposited on the p-type a-Si by the DC magnetron sputtering method, and the WO3 particulate layer was formed by a doctor-blade method, using a colloidal solution of commercial WO₃ powder of 10-30 nm in diameter. The composite electrode thus prepared was finally heat-treated at 300°C for 1 h. The anodic (water oxidation) photocurrent for the composite electrode in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ yielded an IPCE (incident photon to current efficiency) of about 6 % at 400 nm and was stable for more than 24 h. Besides, the onset potential lay a little (by about 0.05 V) more negative than the equilibrium hydrogen evolution potential, indicating a possibility of solar water splitting with no external bias. A preliminary result for the water photooxidation with an "n- GaP/p-Si/Pt dot" electrode is also reported briefly.

Citation Download Citation

Yoshihiro Nakato, Naoaki Kato, Akihito Imanishi, Takashi Sugiura, Shunsuke Ogawa, Norimitsu Yoshida, and Shuichi Nonomura "Solar water splitting with a composite silicon/metal oxide semiconductor electrode", Proc. SPIE 6340, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology, 63400U (8 September 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.681980

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