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Molybdenum Disulfide Catalytic Coatings via Atomic Layer Deposition for Solar Hydrogen Production from Copper Gallium Diselenide Photocathodes

Journal Article · · ACS Applied Energy Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [4];  [5];  [8]
  1. Stanford Univ., CA (United States); University of Hawaii
  2. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States)
  4. Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  5. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States); Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany)
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  7. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV (United States); Karlsruhe Inst. of Technology (KIT) (Germany); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  8. Stanford Univ., CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Here, we show that applying atomic layer deposition-derived molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) catalytic coatings on copper gallium diselenide (CGSe) thin film absorbers can lead to efficient wide band gap photocathodes for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. We have prepared a device that is free of precious metals, employing a CGSe absorber and a cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer layer, a titanium dioxide (TiO2) interfacial layer, and a MoS2 catalytic layer. The resulting MoS2/TiO2/CdS/CGSe photocathode exhibits a photocurrent onset of +0.53 V vs. RHE and a saturation photocurrent density of -10 mA cm-2, with stable operation for greater than 5 hours in acidic electrolyte. Spectroscopic exploration of this device architecture indicate that overlayer degradation occurs inhomogeneously, ultimately exposing the underlying CGSe absorber.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Fuel Cell Technologies Office (EE-3F); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515; EE0006670
OSTI ID:
1570459
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1594909
Journal Information:
ACS Applied Energy Materials, Journal Name: ACS Applied Energy Materials Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 2; ISSN 2574-0962
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (2)

Efficiency and stability of narrow-gap semiconductor-based photoelectrodes journal January 2019
Pulsed Laser Deposition of Nanostructured MoS3/np-Mo//WO3−y Hybrid Catalyst for Enhanced (Photo) Electrochemical Hydrogen Evolution journal September 2019

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Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
atomic layer deposition
copper gallium diselenide
hydrogen evolution
molybdenum disulfide
photoelectrochemical water splitting