IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v14y2023i1d10.1038_s41467-023-37154-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Substantial lifetime enhancement for Si-based photoanodes enabled by amorphous TiO2 coating with improved stoichiometry

Author

Listed:
  • Yutao Dong

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Mehrdad Abbasi

    (The Ohio State University)

  • Jun Meng

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Lazarus German

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Corey Carlos

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Jun Li

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Ziyi Zhang

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Dane Morgan

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Jinwoo Hwang

    (The Ohio State University)

  • Xudong Wang

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Abstract

Amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO2) film coating by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a promising strategy to extend the photoelectrode lifetime to meet the industrial standard for solar fuel generation. To realize this promise, the essential structure-property relationship that dictates the protection lifetime needs to be uncovered. In this work, we reveal that in addition to the imbedded crystalline phase, the presence of residual chlorine (Cl) ligands is detrimental to the silicon (Si) photoanode lifetime. We further demonstrate that post-ALD in-situ water treatment can effectively decouple the ALD reaction completeness from crystallization. The as-processed TiO2 film has a much lower residual Cl concentration and thus an improved film stoichiometry, while its uniform amorphous phase is well preserved. As a result, the protected Si photoanode exhibits a substantially improved lifetime to ~600 h at a photocurrent density of more than 30 mA/cm2. This study demonstrates a significant advancement toward sustainable hydrogen generation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yutao Dong & Mehrdad Abbasi & Jun Meng & Lazarus German & Corey Carlos & Jun Li & Ziyi Zhang & Dane Morgan & Jinwoo Hwang & Xudong Wang, 2023. "Substantial lifetime enhancement for Si-based photoanodes enabled by amorphous TiO2 coating with improved stoichiometry," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-37154-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37154-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37154-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-023-37154-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yanhao Yu & Zheng Zhang & Xin Yin & Alexander Kvit & Qingliang Liao & Zhuo Kang & Xiaoqin Yan & Yue Zhang & Xudong Wang, 2017. "Enhanced photoelectrochemical efficiency and stability using a conformal TiO2 film on a black silicon photoanode," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 1-7, June.
    2. Ibadillah A. Digdaya & Gede W. P. Adhyaksa & Bartek J. Trześniewski & Erik C. Garnett & Wilson A. Smith, 2017. "Interfacial engineering of metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions for efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xue Zhou & Baihe Fu & Linjuan Li & Zheng Tian & Xiankui Xu & Zihao Wu & Jing Yang & Zhonghai Zhang, 2022. "Hydrogen-substituted graphdiyne encapsulated cuprous oxide photocathode for efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water reduction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Bin Liu & Tuo Wang & Shujie Wang & Gong Zhang & Dazhong Zhong & Tenghui Yuan & Hao Dong & Bo Wu & Jinlong Gong, 2022. "Back-illuminated photoelectrochemical flow cell for efficient CO2 reduction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Sanghyun Bae & Thomas Moehl & Erin Service & Minjung Kim & Pardis Adams & Zhenbin Wang & Yuri Choi & Jungki Ryu & S. David Tilley, 2024. "A hole-selective hybrid TiO2 layer for stable and low-cost photoanodes in solar water oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Chao Feng & Zhi Liu & Huanxin Ju & Andraž Mavrič & Matjaz Valant & Jie Fu & Beibei Zhang & Yanbo Li, 2024. "Understanding the in-situ transformation of CuxO interlayers to increase the water splitting efficiency in NiO/n-Si photoanodes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-37154-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.