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Semi-conducting electrodes for photoelectrolysis of water. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5909628

The study concerns the use of photoelectrolysis as a future source of energy and focuses on the problem of the performance of the photoanode. Problems arise due to the low corrosion resistance, higher band gap, low energy conversion efficiency, and the requirement of a bias potential. During the course of the investigation, all of these problems in the performance of electronic ceramic photoanodes have been addressed. Photoanodes have been developed with the following properties: (1) TiO2-NbO2 solid solution (an energy conversion efficiency of 6.8%, with a quantum efficiency of 22%), (2) excellent corrosion resistance in alkaline solutions, (3) a fabrication technology has been developed for the photoanodes, and (4) the photoanodes can generate hydrogen without any external bias. The investigation also showed that the band gap of a TiO2-NbO2 solid solution decreased as the amount of NbO2 increased.

Research Organization:
Ceramatec, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
OSTI ID:
5909628
Report Number(s):
PB-92-113901/XAB; CERMATEC--8960501; CNN: NSF-ISI85-05637
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English