Functional integration of Ni–Mo electrocatalysts with Si microwire array photocathodes to simultaneously achieve high fill factors and light-limited photocurrent densities for solar-driven hydrogen evolution

Shaner, Matthew R.; McKone, James R.; Gray, Harry B.; Lewis, Nathan S.

doi:10.1039/c5ee01076d

Functional integration of Ni–Mo electrocatalysts with Si microwire array photocathodes to simultaneously achieve high fill factors and light-limited photocurrent densities for solar-driven hydrogen evolution

Journal Article · Fri Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Energy & Environmental Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/c5ee01076d· OSTI ID:1634094

Shaner, Matthew R. ^[1]; McKone, James R. ^[2]; Gray, Harry B. ^[3]; Lewis, Nathan S. ^[4]

California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP); California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP); Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States). Beckman Inst. for Advanced Science and Technology; Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute, Berkeley, CA (United States)
California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP)

An n⁺p-Si microwire array coupled with a two-layer catalyst film consisting of Ni–Mo nanopowder and TiO₂ light-scattering nanoparticles has been used to simultaneously achieve high fill factors and light-limited photocurrent densities from photocathodes that produce H₂(g) directly from sunlight and water. The TiO₂ layer scattered light back into the Si microwire array, while optically obscuring the underlying Ni–Mo catalyst film. In turn, the Ni–Mo film had a mass loading sufficient to produce high catalytic activity, on a geometric area basis, for the hydrogen-evolution reaction. The best-performing microwire array devices prepared in this work exhibited short-circuit photocurrent densities of -14.3 mA cm^-2, photovoltages of 420 mV, and a fill factor of 0.48 under 1 Sun of simulated solar illumination, whereas the equivalent planar Ni–Mo-coated Si device, without TiO₂ scatterers, exhibited negligible photocurrent due to complete light blocking by the Ni–Mo catalyst layer.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) Powering the Planet Center for Chemical Innovation

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0004993

OSTI ID:: 1634094

Journal Information:: Energy & Environmental Science, Journal Name: Energy & Environmental Science Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 8; ISSN 1754-5692

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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