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Spontaneous solar water splitting with decoupling of light absorption and electrocatalysis using silicon back-buried junction

Author

Listed:
  • Hui-Chun Fu

    (Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, (KAUST)
    KAUST Solar Center, KAUST
    City University of Hong Kong)

  • Purushothaman Varadhan

    (Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, (KAUST)
    KAUST Solar Center, KAUST)

  • Chun-Ho Lin

    (Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, (KAUST))

  • Jr-Hau He

    (Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, (KAUST)
    KAUST Solar Center, KAUST
    City University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

Converting sunlight into a storable form of energy by spontaneous water splitting is of great interest but the difficulty in simultaneous management of optical, electrical, and catalytic properties has limited the efficiency of photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. Herein, we implemented a decoupling scheme of light harvesting and electrocatalysis by employing a back-buried junction (BBJ) PEC cell design, which enables >95% front side light-harvesting, whereas the electrochemical reaction in conjunction with carrier separation/transport/collection occurs on the back side of the PEC cell. The resultant silicon BBJ-PEC half-cell produces a current density of 40.51 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution by minimizing optical, electrical, and catalytic losses (as low as 6.11, 1.76, and 1.67 mA cm−2, respectively). Monolithic fabrication also enables three BBJ-PEC cells to be connected in series as a single module, enabling unassisted solar water-splitting with a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 15.62% and a hydrogen generation rate of 240 μg cm−2 h−1.

Suggested Citation

  • Hui-Chun Fu & Purushothaman Varadhan & Chun-Ho Lin & Jr-Hau He, 2020. "Spontaneous solar water splitting with decoupling of light absorption and electrocatalysis using silicon back-buried junction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-17660-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17660-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Austin M. K. Fehr & Ayush Agrawal & Faiz Mandani & Christian L. Conrad & Qi Jiang & So Yeon Park & Olivia Alley & Bor Li & Siraj Sidhik & Isaac Metcalf & Christopher Botello & James L. Young & Jacky E, 2023. "Integrated halide perovskite photoelectrochemical cells with solar-driven water-splitting efficiency of 20.8%," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Hamdani, I.R. & Bhaskarwar, A.N., 2021. "Recent progress in material selection and device designs for photoelectrochemical water-splitting," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Artem Musiienko & Fengjiu Yang & Thomas William Gries & Chiara Frasca & Dennis Friedrich & Amran Al-Ashouri & Elifnaz Sağlamkaya & Felix Lang & Danny Kojda & Yi-Teng Huang & Valerio Stacchini & Robert, 2024. "Resolving electron and hole transport properties in semiconductor materials by constant light-induced magneto transport," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

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