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Title: High Throughput Discovery of Solar Fuels Photoanodes in the CuO-V 2 O 5 System

Journal Article · · Advanced Energy Materials
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [3];  [1]
  1. California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Molecular Foundry; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Kavli Energy NanoSciences Inst., Berkeley, CA (United States)

Solar photoelectrochemical generation of fuel is a promising energy technology yet the lack of an efficient, robust photoanode remains a primary materials challenge in the development and deployment of solar fuels generators. Metal oxides comprise the most promising class of photoanode materials, but no known material meets the demanding requirements of low band gap energy, photoelectrocatalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction, and stability under highly oxidizing conditions. Here, we report the identification of new photoelectroactive materials through a strategic combination of combinatorial materials synthesis, high-throughput photoelectrochemistry, optical spectroscopy, and detailed electronic structure calculations. We identify 4 photoelectrocatalyst phases - α-Cu2V2O7, β-Cu2V2O7, γ-Cu3V2O8, and Cu11V6O26 - with band gap energy at or below 2 eV. The photoelectrochemical properties and 30-minute stability of these copper vanadate phases are demonstrated in 3 different aqueous electrolytes (pH 7, pH 9, and pH 13), with select combinations of phase and electrolyte exhibiting unprecedented photoelectrocatalytic stability for metal oxides with sub-2 eV band gap. Through integration of experimental and theoretical techniques, we determine new structure-property relationships and establish CuO-V2O5 as the most prominent composition system for OER photoelectrocatalysts, providing crucial information for materials genomes initiatives and paving the way for continued development of solar fuels photoanodes.

Research Organization:
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0004993; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1334191
Journal Information:
Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 5, Issue 22; ISSN 1614-6832
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 76 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (12)

Tracking materials science data lineage to manage millions of materials experiments and analyses journal July 2019
Stability and self-passivation of copper vanadate photoanodes under chemical, electrochemical, and photoelectrochemical operation journal January 2016
Alkaline-stable nickel manganese oxides with ideal band gap for solar fuel photoanodes journal January 2018
Activation of Kagome lattice-structured Cu 3 V 2 O 7 (OH) 2 ·2H 2 O volborthite via hydrothermal crystallization for boosting visible light-driven water oxidation journal January 2018
A simple chemical solution synthesis of nanowire-assembled hierarchical CuO microspheres with enhanced photochemical properties journal January 2018
Assembly of β-Cu 2 V 2 O 7 /WO 3 heterostructured nanocomposites and the impact of their composition on structure and photoelectrochemical properties journal January 2018
Deep eutectic solvent route synthesis of zinc and copper vanadate n-type semiconductors – mapping oxygen vacancies and their effect on photovoltage journal January 2019
The synergistic effect of cation mixing in mesoporous Bi x Fe 1−x VO 4 heterojunction photoanodes for solar water splitting journal January 2019
Solar fuels photoanode materials discovery by integrating high-throughput theory and experiment journal March 2017
Recent developments in complex metal oxide photoelectrodes journal April 2017
Data-driven material discovery for photocatalysis: a short review journal July 2018
Review—Copper Oxide-Based Ternary and Quaternary Oxides: Where Solid-State Chemistry Meets Photoelectrochemistry journal January 2018

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