Heteroepitaxy of GaP on silicon for efficient and cost-effective photoelectrochemical water splitting
File(s)_system_appendPDF_proof_hi.pdf (2.16 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen by using sunlight to split water offers a sustainable approach for clean energy generation. III-V semiconductors have shown the highest efficiencies for photoelectrochemical water splitting but the prohibitive cost of commercial single-crystalline GaP wafers limit practical use and large-scale application. Here, we report a high-quality GaP photocathode directly grown on a silicon substrate by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. The photocathode can be stabilized under acidic electrolyte 1 M HClO 4 (pH 0) by combining an amorphous TiO 2 layer coated with a molybdenum sulphide MoS 2 hydrogen evolution catalyst by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Under simulated AM 1.5G solar illumination, the Si/GaP photocathode yielded a maximum photocurrent density of 0.95 (mA cm -2 ) with a proton reduction onset potential of 467 mV versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. The average faradaic efficiency of the Si/GaP photocathode was measured to be over 73.4 ± 20.2% for over 100 minutes. The photoelectrochemical studies for the Si/GaP photocathode show the potential for widespread deployment of cost-effective photoelectrodes for hydrogen generation.
Date Issued
2019-04-14
Date Acceptance
2019-03-14
Citation
Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2019, 7 (14), pp.8550-8558
ISSN
2050-7488
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Start Page
8550
End Page
8558
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume
7
Issue
14
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Physical
Energy & Fuels
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chemistry
Materials Science
PHOTOCATHODE
LAYER
PHOTOANODES
TIO2
0303 Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-03-14