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Enabling unassisted solar water splitting by iron oxide and silicon

Author

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  • Ji-Wook Jang

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • Chun Du

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • Yifan Ye

    (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
    National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Yongjing Lin

    (University of California)

  • Xiahui Yao

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • James Thorne

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • Erik Liu

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • Gregory McMahon

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

  • Junfa Zhu

    (National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China)

  • Ali Javey

    (University of California)

  • Jinghua Guo

    (Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

  • Dunwei Wang

    (Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College)

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting promises a solution to the problem of large-scale solar energy storage. However, its development has been impeded by the poor performance of photoanodes, particularly in their capability for photovoltage generation. Many examples employing photovoltaic modules to correct the deficiency for unassisted solar water splitting have been reported to-date. Here we show that, by using the prototypical photoanode material of haematite as a study tool, structural disorders on or near the surfaces are important causes of the low photovoltages. We develop a facile re-growth strategy to reduce surface disorders and as a consequence, a turn-on voltage of 0.45 V (versus reversible hydrogen electrode) is achieved. This result permits us to construct a photoelectrochemical device with a haematite photoanode and Si photocathode to split water at an overall efficiency of 0.91%, with NiFeOx and TiO2/Pt overlayers, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji-Wook Jang & Chun Du & Yifan Ye & Yongjing Lin & Xiahui Yao & James Thorne & Erik Liu & Gregory McMahon & Junfa Zhu & Ali Javey & Jinghua Guo & Dunwei Wang, 2015. "Enabling unassisted solar water splitting by iron oxide and silicon," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-5, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8447
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8447
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    Cited by:

    1. Zeng, Qingyi & Bai, Jing & Li, Jinhua & Li, Linsen & Xia, Ligang & Zhou, Baoxue & Sun, Yugang, 2018. "Highly-stable and efficient photocatalytic fuel cell based on an epitaxial TiO2/WO3/W nanothorn photoanode and enhanced radical reactions for simultaneous electricity production and wastewater treatme," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 127-137.
    2. Camilo A. Mesa & Michael Sachs & Ernest Pastor & Nicolas Gauriot & Alice J. Merryweather & Miguel A. Gomez-Gonzalez & Konstantin Ignatyev & Sixto Giménez & Akshay Rao & James R. Durrant & Raj Pandya, 2024. "Correlating activities and defects in (photo)electrocatalysts using in-situ multi-modal microscopic imaging," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. 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).
    4. Rashmi Mehrotra & Dongrak Oh & Ji-Wook Jang, 2021. "Unassisted selective solar hydrogen peroxide production by an oxidised buckypaper-integrated perovskite photocathode," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Yuyang Pan & Huiyan Zhang & Bowen Zhang & Feng Gong & Jianyong Feng & Huiting Huang & Srinivas Vanka & Ronglei Fan & Qi Cao & Mingrong Shen & Zhaosheng Li & Zhigang Zou & Rui Xiao & Sheng Chu, 2023. "Renewable formate from sunlight, biomass and carbon dioxide in a photoelectrochemical cell," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Dhandole, Love Kumar & Anushkkaran, Periyasamy & Hwang, Jun Beom & Chae, Weon-Sik & Kumar, Manish & Lee, Hyun-Hwi & Choi, Sun Hee & Jang, Jum Suk & Lee, Jae Sung, 2022. "Microwave-assisted metal-ion attachment for ex-situ zirconium doping into hematite for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 694-703.
    7. Sang Eon Jun & Youn-Hye Kim & Jaehyun Kim & Woo Seok Cheon & Sungkyun Choi & Jinwook Yang & Hoonkee Park & Hyungsoo Lee & Sun Hwa Park & Ki Chang Kwon & Jooho Moon & Soo-Hyun Kim & Ho Won Jang, 2023. "Atomically dispersed iridium catalysts on silicon photoanode for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Stephanie J. Boyd & Run Long & Niall J. English, 2022. "Electric Field Effects on Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Perspectives and Outlook," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Chao Zhen & Xiangtao Chen & Ruotian Chen & Fengtao Fan & Xiaoxiang Xu & Yuyang Kang & Jingdong Guo & Lianzhou Wang & Gao Qing (Max) Lu & Kazunari Domen & Hui-Ming Cheng & Gang Liu, 2024. "Liquid metal-embraced photoactive films for artificial photosynthesis," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Maheswari Arunachalam & Rohini Subhash Kanase & Kai Zhu & Soon Hyung Kang, 2023. "Reliable bi-functional nickel-phosphate /TiO2 integration enables stable n-GaAs photoanode for water oxidation under alkaline condition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Lee, Jin Uk & Kim, Jeong Hun & Kang, Kyungwoong & Shin, Yun Seop & Kim, Jin Young & Kim, Jin Hyun & Lee, Jae Sung, 2023. "Bulk and surface modified polycrystalline CuWO4 films for photoelectrochemical water oxidation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 779-787.

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