• Title/Summary/Keyword: photoelectrochemical properties

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CdSe/$TiO_2$ electrode of photoelectrochemical[PEC] cell for hydrogen production from water using solar energy (태양광과 물로부터 수소생산을 위한 광전기화학전지의 CdSe/$TiO_2$ 전극)

  • Lee, Eun-Ho;Jung, Kwang-Deog;Joo, Oh-Shim
    • Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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    • v.16 no.2
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    • pp.130-135
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    • 2005
  • Cadmium selenide is one of the group IIb-VI compounds, which is the promising semiconductor material due to its wide range of technological applications in optoelectronic devices such as photoelectrochemical cells, solid state solar cells, thin film photoconductors etc. CdSe has optical band gap of 1.7-1.8eV and proper conduction band edge for water splitting. CdSe films are coated with small thickness(20-50nm) nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ film by electrodeposition or chemical bath deposition methods and PEC properties of CdSe and CdSe/$TiO_2$ sandwich structure are studied. The photoactivity of CdSe and CdSe/$TiO_2$ films deposited on titanium substrate is studied in aqueous electrolyte of 1M NaOH solution. Photocurrent and photovoltage obtained were of the order of 2-4 mA/$cm^2$ and 0.5V, respectively, under the intensity of illumination of 100 mW/$cm^2$.

ZnO Nanorod Array as an Efficient Photoanode for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation (광전기화학적 물 산화용 산화아연 나노막대 광양극의 합성 및 특성평가)

  • Park, Jong-Hyun;Kim, Hyojin
    • Korean Journal of Materials Research
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    • v.30 no.5
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    • pp.239-245
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    • 2020
  • Synthesizing one-dimensional nanostructures of oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to fabricate highefficiency photoelectrodes for hydrogen production from photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays are successfully synthesized on fluorine-doped-tin-oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate via seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method with the use of a ZnO nanoparticle seed layer, which is formed by thermally oxidizing a sputtered Zn metal thin film. The structural, optical and PEC properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays synthesized at varying levels of Zn sputtering power are examined to reveal that the optimum ZnO nanorod array can be obtained at a sputtering power of 20 W. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency obtained for the optimum ZnO nanorod array photoanode are 0.13 mA/㎠ and 0.49 %, respectively, at a potential of 0.85 V vs. RHE. These results provide a promising avenue to fabricating earth-abundant ZnO-based photoanodes for PEC water oxidation using facile hydrothermal synthesis.

Cupric oxide thin film as an efficient photocathode for photoelectrochemical water reduction

  • Park, Jong-Hyun;Kim, Hyojin
    • Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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    • v.55 no.2
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    • pp.63-69
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    • 2022
  • Preparing various types of thin films of oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to fabricate efficient photoanodes and photocathodes for hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of an efficient photocathode for PEC water reduction of a p-type oxide semiconductor cupric oxide (CuO) thin film prepared via a facile method combined with sputtering Cu metallic film on fluorine-doped thin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate and subsequent thermal oxidation of the sputtered Cu metallic film in dry air. Characterization of the structural, optical, and PEC properties of the CuO thin film prepared at various Cu sputtering powers reveals that we can obtain an optimum CuO thin film as an efficient PEC photocathode at a Cu sputtering power of 60 W. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency for the optimum CuO thin film photocathode are found to be -0.3 mA/cm2 and 0.09% at 0.35 V vs. RHE, respectively. These results provide a promising route to fabricating earth-abundant copper-oxide-based photoelectrode for sunlight-driven hydrogen generation using a facile method.

Comparative Study of Undoped and Nickel-Doped Molybdenum Oxide Photoanodes for PEC Water Splitting

  • Garcia-Garcia, Matias
    • Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.377-389
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    • 2022
  • The current global energy supply depends heavily on fossil fuels. This makes technology such as direct water splitting from harvesting solar energy in photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems potentially attractive due to its a promising route for environmentally benign hydrogen production. In this study, undoped and nickel-doped molybdenum oxide photoanodes (called photoanodes S1 and S2 respectively) were synthesized through electrodeposition by applying -1.377 V vs Ag/AgCl (3 M KCl) for 3 hours on an FTO-coated glass substrate immersed in molibdatecitrate aqueous solutions at pH 9. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for microstructural and compositional characterizations of the photoanodes. In addition, the optical and photoelectrochemical characterizations of these photoanodes were performed by UV-Visible spectroscopy, and linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) respectively. The results showed that all the photoanodes produced exhibit conductivity and catalytic properties that make them attractive for water splitting application in a photoelectrochemical cell. In this context, the photoanode S2 exhibited better photocatalytic activity than the photoanode S1. In addition, photoanode S2 had the lowest optical band-gap energy value (2.58 eV), which would allow better utilization of the solar spectrum.

TiO2 Thin Film Growth Research to Improve Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Efficiency (TiO2 박막 성장에 의한 광전기화학 물분해 효율 변화)

  • Seong Gyu Kim;Yu Jin Jo;Sunhwa Jin;Dong Hyeok Seo;Woo-Byoung Kim
    • Korean Journal of Materials Research
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    • v.34 no.4
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    • pp.202-207
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    • 2024
  • In this study, we undertook detailed experiments to increase hydrogen production efficiency by optimizing the thickness of titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films. TiO2 films were deposited on p-type silicon (Si) wafers using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. The main goal was to identify the optimal thickness of TiO2 film that would maximize hydrogen production efficiency while maintaining stable operating conditions. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the TiO2 films of different thicknesses were evaluated using open circuit potential (OCP) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis. These techniques play a pivotal role in evaluating the electrochemical behavior and photoactivity of semiconductor materials in PEC systems. Our results showed photovoltage tended to improve with increasing thickness of TiO2 deposition. However, this improvement was observed to plateau and eventually decline when the thickness exceeded 1.5 nm, showing a correlation between charge transfer efficiency and tunneling. On the other hand, LSV analysis showed bare Si had the greatest efficiency, and that the deposition of TiO2 caused a positive change in the formation of photovoltage, but was not optimal. We show that oxide tunneling-capable TiO2 film thicknesses of 1~2 nm have the potential to improve the efficiency of PEC hydrogen production systems. This study not only reveals the complex relationship between film thickness and PEC performance, but also enabled greater efficiency and set a benchmark for future research aimed at developing sustainable hydrogen production technologies.

Simple fabrication route for vertically-aligned CZTS nanorod arrays for photoelectrochemical application based on AAO template

  • Kim, Ji-Min;Yang, U-Seok;O, Yun-Jeong;Mun, Ju-Ho
    • Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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    • 2016.02a
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    • pp.402.2-402.2
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    • 2016
  • In photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) compound has attracted intense attention as a photocathode due to not only large optical absorption coefficient, but also earth-abundance of constituent elements and suitable band alignment. With rapid development of nanotechnology, one-dimensional nanostructures of CZTS have been investigated as a potential form to achieve high efficiency because the nanostructures are expected to be capable of capturing more light and enhancing charge separation and transport. Here, we report a well-controlled fabrication route for vertically-aligned CZTS nanorod arrays on anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template via simple sol-gel process followed by deposition of ZnS or CdS buffer layers on the CZTS nanorod to enhance charge separation. The structure, morphology, composition, optical absorption, and PEC properties of the resulting CZTS nanorod samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy.

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Dye-Sensitized Metal Oxide Nanostructures and Their Photoelectrochemical Properties

  • Park, Nam-Gyu
    • Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.10-18
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    • 2010
  • Nanostructured metal oxides have been widely used in the research fields of photoelectrochemistry, photochemistry and opto-electronics. Dye-sensitized solar cell is a typical example because it is based on nanostructured $TiO_2$. Since the discovery of dye-sensitized solar cell in 1991, it has been considered as a promising photovoltaic solar cell because of low-cost, colorful and semitransparent characteristics. Unlike p-n junction type solar cell, dye-sensitized solar cell is photoelectrochemical type and is usually composed of the dye-adsorbed nanocrystalline metal oxide, the iodide/tri-iodide redox electrolyte and the Pt and/or carbon counter electrode. Among the studied issues to improve efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cell, nanoengineering technologies of metal oxide particle and film have been reviewed in terms of improving optical property, electron transport and electron life time.