High Efficiency Si Photocathode Protected by Multifunctional GaN Nanostructures

Vanka, Srinivas; Arca, Elisabetta; Cheng, Shaobo; Sun, Kai; Botton, Gianluigi A.; Teeter, Glenn R.; Mi, Zetian

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03087

Title: High Efficiency Si Photocathode Protected by Multifunctional GaN Nanostructures

Journal Article · Fri Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03087· OSTI ID:1476252

Vanka, Srinivas ^[1];

^[2];

^[3];

^[4];

^[3]; Teeter, Glenn R. ^[2];

^[4]

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is a clean and environmentally friendly method for solar hydrogen generation. Its practical application, however, has been limited by the poor stability of semiconductor photoelectrodes. In this work, we demonstrate the use of GaN nanostructures as a multifunctional protection layer for an otherwise unstable, low-performance photocathode. The direct integration of GaN nanostructures on n⁺-p Si wafer not only protects Si surface from corrosion but also significantly reduces the charge carrier transfer resistance at the semiconductor/liquid junction, leading to long-term stability (>100 h) at a large current density (>35 mA/cm²) under 1 sun illumination. The measured applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 10.5% is among the highest values ever reported for a Si photocathode. Here given that both Si and GaN are already widely produced in industry, our studies offer a viable path for achieving high-efficiency and highly stable semiconductor photoelectrodes for solar water splitting with proven manufacturability and scalability.

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1476252

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-72535

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Vol. 18, Issue 10; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 60 works

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
gallium nitride
hydrogen
nanowire
photocathode
silicon
solar fuel
water splitting

Title: High Efficiency Si Photocathode Protected by Multifunctional GaN Nanostructures

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