Employing overlayers to improve the performance of Cu2BaSnS4 thin film based photoelectrochemical water reduction devices

Ge, Jie; Roland, Paul J.; Koirala, Prakash; Meng, Weiwei; Young, James L.; Petersen, Reese; Deutsch, Todd G.; Teeter, Glenn; Ellingson, Randy J.; Collins, Robert W.; Yan, Yanfa

doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b03347

Title: Employing overlayers to improve the performance of Cu₂BaSnS₄ thin film based photoelectrochemical water reduction devices

Journal Article · Thu Jan 19 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Chemistry of Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b03347· OSTI ID:1346536

^[1]; Roland, Paul J. ^[1]; Koirala, Prakash ^[1]; Meng, Weiwei ^[1]; Young, James L. ^[2]; Petersen, Reese ^[2]; Deutsch, Todd G. ^[2]; Teeter, Glenn ^[2]; Ellingson, Randy J. ^[1]; Collins, Robert W. ^[1];

^[1]

The Univ. of Toledo, Toledo, OH (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Earth-abundant copper-barium-thiostannate Cu₂BaSnS₄ (CBTS)-based thin films have recently been reported to exhibit the optoelectronic and defect properties suitable as absorbers for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting and the top cell of tandem photovoltaic solar cells. However, the photocurrents of CBTS-based PEC devices are still much lower than the theoretical value, partially due to ineffective charge collection at CBTS/water interface and instability of CBTS in electrolytes. Here, we report on overcoming these issues by employing overlayer engineering. We find that CdS/ZnO/TiO₂ overlayers can significant-ly improve the PEC performance, achieving saturated cathodic photocurrents up to 7.8 mA cm^-2 at the potential of -0.10 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in a neutral electrolyte solution, which is much higher than the best bare CBTS film attaining a photocurrent of 4.8 mA cm^-2 at the potential of -0.2 V versus RHE. Finally, our results suggest a viable approach for improving the performance of CBTS-based PEC cells.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; AC02-05CH11231; CHE-1230246; DMR-1534686

OSTI ID:: 1346536

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5900-67785

Journal Information:: Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 3; ISSN 0897-4756

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 54 works

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Strategies for enhancing the photocurrent, photovoltage, and stability of photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting Yang, Wooseok; Prabhakar, Rajiv Ramanujam; Tan, Jeiwan Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 48, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cs00997j	journal	January 2019
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Title: Employing overlayers to improve the performance of Cu2BaSnS4 thin film based photoelectrochemical water reduction devices

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Title: Employing overlayers to improve the performance of Cu₂BaSnS₄ thin film based photoelectrochemical water reduction devices