High Density n-Si/n-TiO2 Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays with Enhanced Photoactivity

Journal Article · Sat Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2008 · American Chemical Society-Nano Letters

OSTI ID:960435

Hwang, Yun Jeong; Boukai, Akram; Yang, Peidong

There are currently great needs to develop low-cost inorganic materials that can efficiently perform solar water splitting as photoelectrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen has significant potential to provide clean energy. We investigate the Si/TiO2 nanowire heterostructures to determine their potential for the photooxidation of water. We observed that highly dense Si/TiO2 core/shell nanowire arrays enhanced the photocurrent by 2.5 times compared to planar Si/TiO2 structure due to their low reflectance and high surface area. We also showed that n-Si/n-TiO2 nanowire arrays exhibited a larger photocurrent and open circuit voltage than p-Si/n-TiO2 nanowires due to a barrier at the heterojunction.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Materials Sciences Division
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 960435
• Report Number(s): LBNL-1951E; TRN: US200923%%440
• Journal Information: American Chemical Society-Nano Letters, Vol. 9, Issue 1; Related Information: Journal Publication Date: 12/01/2008; ISSN 1530-6984
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
HYDROGEN
OXYGEN
PHOTOCURRENTS
PHOTOELECTROLYSIS
SURFACE AREA
WATER
High Density n-Si/n-TiO2 Core/Shell Nanowire Arrays with Enhanced Photoactivity