Interfacial engineering of gallium indium phosphide photoelectrodes for hydrogen evolution with precious metal and non-precious metal based catalysts

Britto, Reuben J.; Young, James; Yang, Ye; Steiner, Myles A.; LaFehr, David; Friedman, Daniel J.; Beard, Matthew C.; Deutsch, Todd G.; Jaramillo, Thomas F.

doi:10.1039/C9TA05247J

Title: Interfacial engineering of gallium indium phosphide photoelectrodes for hydrogen evolution with precious metal and non-precious metal based catalysts

Journal Article · 02 June 2019 · Journal of Materials Chemistry. A

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TA05247J · OSTI ID:1547250

Britto, Reuben J. ^[1];

^[2]; Yang, Ye ^[2];

^[2];

^[2]; Jaramillo, Thomas F. ^[1]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Gallium indium phosphide (GaInP₂) is a semiconductor with promising optical and electronic properties to serve as the large bandgap, top junction in a dual absorber tandem solar water splitting device. Poor intrinsic catalytic ability and surface corrosion in aqueous electrolyte remain key obstacles. Significant progress has been made developing thin-film protection layers and active catalysts for photoelectrochemical devices, but combining these into a catalytic protection layer that can provide long-term stability without sacrificing performance has proven difficult due, in large part, to challenges in developing active and stable interfaces. In this work, we demonstrate that a nanoscale molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) film functions both as an effective protection layer and excellent hydrogen evolution catalyst for GaInP₂ photocathodes, with only a ~10% loss in initial light-limited current density after 100 h, and a photocurrent onset potential better than that of the same state-of-the-art device with a platinum-ruthenium catalyst. Using transient photoreflectance spectroscopy, we probed the carrier dynamics of these photocathodes and show that the MoS₂ coated device exhibits improved electron transfer at the surface interface compared to the PtRu catalyzed device. These MoS₂ protected devices are among the most active and stable single-absorber photocathodes for solar water splitting to date and offer a promising pathway towards generating hydrogen with high efficiency and significant longevity.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation and Fuels. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO); USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; FOA-0001647; EE0008084

OSTI ID:: 1547250

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1530628; OSTI ID: 2305590

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5900-68895; JMCAET

Journal Information:: Journal of Materials Chemistry. A, Vol. 7, Issue 28; ISSN 2050-7488

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
photocurrent
photocathodes
single-absorber
photoreflectance
phosphide
bandgap
catalysts
solar hydrogen
08 HYDROGEN
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Title: Interfacial engineering of gallium indium phosphide photoelectrodes for hydrogen evolution with precious metal and non-precious metal based catalysts

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