An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces

Lichterman, Michael F.; Richter, Matthias H.; Hu, Shu; Crumlin, Ethan J.; Axnanda, Stephanus; Favaro, Marco; Drisdell, Walter; Hussain, Zahid; Brunschwig, Bruce S.; Lewis, Nathan S.; Liu, Zhi; Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim

doi:10.1149/2.0861602jes

An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO₂/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces

Journal Article · Sat Dec 05 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0861602jes· OSTI ID:1378770

Lichterman, Michael F. ^[1]; Richter, Matthias H. ^[1]; Hu, Shu ^[1]; Crumlin, Ethan J. ^[2]; Axnanda, Stephanus ^[2]; Favaro, Marco ^[3]; Drisdell, Walter ^[4]; Hussain, Zahid ^[2]; Brunschwig, Bruce S. ^[5]; Lewis, Nathan S. ^[6]; Liu, Zhi ^[7]; Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim ^[8]

California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source. Materials Science Division. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Science Division. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. Beckman Inst.
California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. Beckman Inst. Kavli Nanoscience Inst.
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai (China). State Key Lab. of Functional Materials for Informatics. Shanghai Inst. of Microsystem and Information Technology; ShanghaiTech Univ. (China). School of Physical Science and Technology
California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis

The electrical and spectroscopic properties of the TiO₂/Ni protection layer system, which enables stabilization of otherwise corroding photoanodes, have been investigated in contact with electrolyte solutions by scanning-probe microscopy, electrochemistry and in-situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). Specifically, the energy-band relations of the p⁺-Si/ALD-TiO₂/Ni interface have been determined for a selected range of Ni thicknesses. AP-XPS measurements using tender X-rays were performed in a three-electrode electrochemical arrangement under potentiostatic control to obtain information from the semiconductor near-surface region, the electrochemical double layer (ECDL) and the electrolyte beyond the ECDL. The degree of conductivity depended on the chemical state of the Ni on the TiO₂ surface. At low loadings of Ni, the Ni was present primarily as an oxide layer and the samples were not conductive, although the TiO₂ XPS core levels nonetheless displayed behavior indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. In contrast, as the Ni thickness increased, the Ni phase was primarily metallic and the electrochemical behavior became highly conductive, with the AP-XPS data indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. Electrochemical and microtopographical methods have been employed to better define the nature of the TiO₂/Ni electrodes and to contextualize the AP-XPS results.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Contributing Organization:: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai (China); ShanghaiTech Univ. (China)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; SC0004993

OSTI ID:: 1378770

Journal Information:: Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the Electrochemical Society Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 163; ISSN 0013-4651

Publisher:: The Electrochemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Probing a battery electrolyte drop with ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy Maibach, Julia; Källquist, Ida; Andersson, Margit Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10803-y	journal	July 2019
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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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