An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces
Abstract
The electrical and spectroscopic properties of the TiO2/Ni protection layer system, which enables stabilization of otherwise corroding photoanodes, have been investigated in contact with electrolyte solutions by scanning-probe microscopy, electrochemistry and in-situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). Specifically, the energy-band relations of the p+-Si/ALD-TiO2/Ni interface have been determined for a selected range of Ni thicknesses. AP-XPS measurements using tender X-rays were performed in a three-electrode electrochemical arrangement under potentiostatic control to obtain information from the semiconductor near-surface region, the electrochemical double layer (ECDL) and the electrolyte beyond the ECDL. The degree of conductivity depended on the chemical state of the Ni on the TiO2 surface. At low loadings of Ni, the Ni was present primarily as an oxide layer and the samples were not conductive, although the TiO2 XPS core levels nonetheless displayed behavior indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. In contrast, as the Ni thickness increased, the Ni phase was primarily metallic and the electrochemical behavior became highly conductive, with the AP-XPS data indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. Electrochemical and microtopographical methods have been employed to better define the nature of the TiO2/Ni electrodes and to contextualize the AP-XPS results.
- Authors:
-
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source. Materials Science Division. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Science Division. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. Beckman Inst.
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis. Beckman Inst. Kavli Nanoscience Inst.
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai (China). State Key Lab. of Functional Materials for Informatics. Shanghai Inst. of Microsystem and Information Technology; ShanghaiTech Univ. (China). School of Physical Science and Technology
- California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- Contributing Org.:
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai (China); ShanghaiTech Univ. (China)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1378770
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; SC0004993
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of the Electrochemical Society
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 163; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651
- Publisher:
- The Electrochemical Society
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; corrosion; interfaces; photoelectrochemistry; semiconductor/liquid junction
Citation Formats
Lichterman, Michael F., Richter, Matthias H., Hu, Shu, Crumlin, Ethan J., Axnanda, Stephanus, Favaro, Marco, Drisdell, Walter, Hussain, Zahid, Brunschwig, Bruce S., Lewis, Nathan S., Liu, Zhi, and Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim. An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1149/2.0861602jes.
Lichterman, Michael F., Richter, Matthias H., Hu, Shu, Crumlin, Ethan J., Axnanda, Stephanus, Favaro, Marco, Drisdell, Walter, Hussain, Zahid, Brunschwig, Bruce S., Lewis, Nathan S., Liu, Zhi, & Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim. An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces. United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0861602jes
Lichterman, Michael F., Richter, Matthias H., Hu, Shu, Crumlin, Ethan J., Axnanda, Stephanus, Favaro, Marco, Drisdell, Walter, Hussain, Zahid, Brunschwig, Bruce S., Lewis, Nathan S., Liu, Zhi, and Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim. Sat .
"An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces". United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0861602jes. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1378770.
@article{osti_1378770,
title = {An Electrochemical, Microtopographical and Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic Investigation of Si/TiO2/Ni/Electrolyte Interfaces},
author = {Lichterman, Michael F. and Richter, Matthias H. and Hu, Shu and Crumlin, Ethan J. and Axnanda, Stephanus and Favaro, Marco and Drisdell, Walter and Hussain, Zahid and Brunschwig, Bruce S. and Lewis, Nathan S. and Liu, Zhi and Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim},
abstractNote = {The electrical and spectroscopic properties of the TiO2/Ni protection layer system, which enables stabilization of otherwise corroding photoanodes, have been investigated in contact with electrolyte solutions by scanning-probe microscopy, electrochemistry and in-situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). Specifically, the energy-band relations of the p+-Si/ALD-TiO2/Ni interface have been determined for a selected range of Ni thicknesses. AP-XPS measurements using tender X-rays were performed in a three-electrode electrochemical arrangement under potentiostatic control to obtain information from the semiconductor near-surface region, the electrochemical double layer (ECDL) and the electrolyte beyond the ECDL. The degree of conductivity depended on the chemical state of the Ni on the TiO2 surface. At low loadings of Ni, the Ni was present primarily as an oxide layer and the samples were not conductive, although the TiO2 XPS core levels nonetheless displayed behavior indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. In contrast, as the Ni thickness increased, the Ni phase was primarily metallic and the electrochemical behavior became highly conductive, with the AP-XPS data indicative of a metal-electrolyte junction. Electrochemical and microtopographical methods have been employed to better define the nature of the TiO2/Ni electrodes and to contextualize the AP-XPS results.},
doi = {10.1149/2.0861602jes},
journal = {Journal of the Electrochemical Society},
number = 2,
volume = 163,
place = {United States},
year = {2015},
month = {12}
}
Web of Science
Works referenced in this record:
Electrochemical photo and solar cells principles and some experiments
journal, January 1975
- Gerischer, Heinz
- Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Interfacial Electrochemistry, Vol. 58, Issue 1
Energetics and Solvation Effects at the Photoanode/Catalyst Interface: Ohmic Contact versus Schottky Barrier
journal, April 2015
- Ping, Yuan; Goddard, William A.; Galli, Giulia A.
- Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 137, Issue 16
Electrolytic Hydrogenation of Silicon
journal, January 1992
- Lewerenz, H. J.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 139, Issue 2
Electrolytic Hydrogenation of Silicon
journal, January 1993
- Lewerenz, H. J.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 140, Issue 3
Hydrogenation of Si(113) surfaces by photoelectrochemical treatment
journal, February 1995
- Jacobi, K.; Gruyters, M.; Geng, P.
- Physical Review B, Vol. 51, Issue 8
Using “Tender” X-ray Ambient Pressure X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy as A Direct Probe of Solid-Liquid Interface
journal, May 2015
- Axnanda, Stephanus; Crumlin, Ethan J.; Mao, Baohua
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 1
Direct observation of the energetics at a semiconductor/liquid junction by operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
journal, January 2015
- Lichterman, Michael F.; Hu, Shu; Richter, Matthias H.
- Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 8
Nickel oxide functionalized silicon for efficient photo-oxidation of water
journal, January 2012
- Sun, Ke; Park, Namseok; Sun, Zhelin
- Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 5, Issue 7
Stable solar-driven oxidation of water by semiconducting photoanodes protected by transparent catalytic nickel oxide films
journal, March 2015
- Sun, Ke; Saadi, Fadl H.; Lichterman, Michael F.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 112, Issue 12, p. 3612-3617
Si photoanode protected by a metal modified ITO layer with ultrathin NiO x for solar water oxidation
journal, January 2014
- Sun, Ke; Shen, Shaohua; Cheung, Justin S.
- Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., Vol. 16, Issue 10
Atomic layer-deposited tunnel oxide stabilizes silicon photoanodes for water oxidation
journal, June 2011
- Chen, Yi Wei; Prange, Jonathan D.; Dühnen, Simon
- Nature Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 7
Amorphous TiO2 coatings stabilize Si, GaAs, and GaP photoanodes for efficient water oxidation
journal, May 2014
- Hu, S.; Shaner, M. R.; Beardslee, J. A.
- Science, Vol. 344, Issue 6187
Stabilization of n-cadmium telluride photoanodes for water oxidation to O 2 (g) in aqueous alkaline electrolytes using amorphous TiO 2 films formed by atomic-layer deposition
journal, January 2014
- Lichterman, Michael F.; Carim, Azhar I.; McDowell, Matthew T.
- Energy Environ. Sci., Vol. 7, Issue 10
Protection of inorganic semiconductors for sustained, efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation
journal, March 2016
- Lichterman, Michael F.; Sun, Ke; Hu, Shu
- Catalysis Today, Vol. 262
Crystalline TiO 2 : A Generic and Effective Electron-Conducting Protection Layer for Photoanodes and -cathodes
journal, June 2015
- Mei, Bastian; Pedersen, Thomas; Malacrida, Paolo
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 119, Issue 27
Deep and Shallow TiO 2 Gap States on Cleaved Anatase Single Crystal (101) Surfaces, Nanocrystalline Anatase Films, and ALD Titania Ante and Post Annealing
journal, April 2015
- Reckers, Philip; Dimamay, Mariel; Klett, Joachim
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 119, Issue 18
The Influence of Structure and Processing on the Behavior of TiO 2 Protective Layers for Stabilization of n-Si/TiO 2 /Ni Photoanodes for Water Oxidation
journal, July 2015
- McDowell, Matthew T.; Lichterman, Michael F.; Carim, Azhar I.
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 7, Issue 28
Silicon protected with atomic layer deposited TiO2: conducting versus tunnelling through TiO2
journal, January 2013
- Seger, Brian; Tilley, S. David; Pedersen, Thomas
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 1, Issue 47
Role of TiO 2 Surface Passivation on Improving the Performance of p-InP Photocathodes
journal, February 2015
- Lin, Yongjing; Kapadia, Rehan; Yang, Jinhui
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 119, Issue 5
Silicon protected with atomic layer deposited TiO2: durability studies of photocathodic H2 evolution
journal, January 2013
- Seger, Brian; Tilley, David S.; Pedersen, Thomas
- RSC Advances, Vol. 3, Issue 48
(Invited) Investigation of the Si/TiO2/Electrolyte Interface Using Operando Tender X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
journal, April 2015
- Lichterman, M. F.; Richter, M. H.; Hu, S.
- ECS Transactions, Vol. 66, Issue 6
(Invited) Measurement of the Energy-Band Relations of Stabilized Si Photoanodes Using Operando Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
journal, April 2015
- Richter, M. H.; Lichterman, M. F.; Hu, S.
- ECS Transactions, Vol. 66, Issue 6
Hydrous Nickel Oxide: Redox Switching and the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Aqueous Alkaline Solution
journal, January 2012
- Lyons, M. E. G.; Doyle, R. L.; Godwin, I.
- Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 159, Issue 12
Works referencing / citing this record:
Various spectroelectrochemical cells for in situ observation of electrochemical processes at solid–liquid interfaces
journal, October 2018
- Masuda, Takuya
- Topics in Catalysis, Vol. 61, Issue 20
Unravelling the electrochemical double layer by direct probing of the solid/liquid interface
journal, August 2016
- Favaro, Marco; Jeong, Beomgyun; Ross, Philip N.
- Nature Communications, Vol. 7, Issue 1
Probing a battery electrolyte drop with ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy
journal, July 2019
- Maibach, Julia; Källquist, Ida; Andersson, Margit
- Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1
Investigation of the photocorrosion of n-GaP photoanodes in acid with in situ UV-Vis spectroscopy
journal, January 2019
- Pishgar, Sahar; Strain, Jacob M.; Gulati, Saumya
- Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 7, Issue 44
The offset droplet: a new methodology for studying the solid/water interface using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
journal, October 2017
- Booth, S. G.; Tripathi, A. M.; Strashnov, I.
- Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, Vol. 29, Issue 45
Spatially Resolved XPS Characterization of Electrochemical Surfaces
journal, April 2019
- Bozzini, Benedetto; Kuscer, Danjela; Amati, Matteo
- Surfaces, Vol. 2, Issue 2
Investigation of the Photocorrosion of n-Gap Photoanodes in Acid with in-Situ UV-Vis Spectroscopy
journal, May 2020
- Spurgeon, Joshua M.; Pishgar, Sahar; Strain, Jacob
- ECS Meeting Abstracts, Vol. MA2020-01, Issue 39
Probing a battery electrolyte drop with ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy
text, January 2019
- Maibach, Julia; Källquist, Ida; Andersson, Margit
- Karlsruhe
Probing a battery electrolyte drop with ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy
text, January 2019
- Maibach, Julia; Källquist, Ida; Andersson, Margit
- Karlsruhe