Stable water splitting using photoelectrodes with a cryogelated overlayer

Kang, Byungjun; Tan, Jeiwan; Kim, Kyungmin; Kang, Donyoung; Lee, Hyungsoo; Ma, Sunihl; Park, Young Sun; Yun, Juwon; Lee, Soobin; Lee, Chan Uk; Jang, Gyumin; Lee, Jeongyoub; Moon, Jooho; Lee, Hyungsuk

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45701-5

Title: Stable water splitting using photoelectrodes with a cryogelated overlayer

Journal Article · 18 February 2024 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45701-5 · OSTI ID:2471203

^[1]; Tan, Jeiwan ^[2];

^[1];

^[1]; Yun, Juwon ^[1];

^[1];

^[1]

Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

Hydrogen production techniques based on solar-water splitting have emerged as carbon-free energy systems. Many researchers have developed highly efficient thin-film photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices made of low-cost and earth-abundant materials. However, solar water splitting systems suffer from short lifetimes due to catalyst instability that is attributed to both chemical dissolution and mechanical stress produced by hydrogen bubbles. A recent study found that the nanoporous hydrogel could prevent the structural degradation of the PEC devices. In this study, we investigate the protection mechanism of the hydrogel-based overlayer by engineering its porous structure using the cryogelation technique. Tests for cryogel overlayers with varied pore structures, such as disconnected micropores, interconnected micropores, and surface macropores, reveal that the hydrogen gas trapped in the cryogel protector reduce shear stress at the catalyst surface by providing bubble nucleation sites. The cryogelated overlayer effectively preserves the uniformly distributed platinum catalyst particles on the device surface for over 200 h. Our finding can help establish semi-permanent photoelectrochemical devices to realize a carbon-free society.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 2471203

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (39)

Under-Water Superaerophobic Pine-Shaped Pt Nanoarray Electrode for Ultrahigh-Performance Hydrogen Evolution Li, Yingjie; Zhang, Haichuan; Xu, Tianhao Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 25, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201404250	journal	February 2015
Reduced Graphene Oxide as a Catalyst Binder: Greatly Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Stability of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Photocathode for Solar Water Splitting Koo, Bonhyeong; Byun, Segi; Nam, Sung‐Wook Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201705136	journal	February 2018
Tough Particle‐Based Double Network Hydrogels for Functional Solid Surface Coatings Takahashi, Riku; Shimano, Kouichi; Okazaki, Haruka Advanced Materials Interfaces, Vol. 5, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201801018	journal	October 2018
Latest Advances in Cryogel Technology for Biomedical Applications Memic, Adnan; Colombani, Thibault; Eggermont, Loek J. Advanced Therapeutics, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/adtp.201800114	journal	February 2019
Fullerene as a Photoelectron Transfer Promoter Enabling Stable TiO ₂ ‐Protected Sb ₂ Se ₃ Photocathodes for Photo‐Electrochemical Water Splitting Tan, Jeiwan; Yang, Wooseok; Oh, Yunjung Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 9, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201900179	journal	February 2019
Superaerophobic Polyethyleneimine Hydrogels for Improving Electrochemical Hydrogen Production by Promoting Bubble Detachment Bae, Misol; Kang, Yunseok; Lee, Dong Woog Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 12, Issue 29 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202201452	journal	June 2022
Covalent surface modification of titanium oxide with different adhesive peptides: Surface characterization and osteoblast‐like cell adhesion Dettin, Monica; Bagno, Andrea; Gambaretto, Roberta Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, Vol. 90A, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.a.32064	journal	May 2008
Dynamic In Situ Three-Dimensional Imaging and Digital Volume Correlation Analysis to Quantify Strain Localization and Fracture Coalescence in Sandstone Renard, François; McBeck, Jessica; Cordonnier, Benoît Pure and Applied Geophysics, Vol. 176, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-2003-x	journal	October 2018
Revisited electrochemical gas evolution reactions from the perspective of gas bubbles Yin, Weinan; Cai, Yuntao; Xie, Lingbin Nano Research, Vol. 16, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5133-5	journal	December 2022
Degradation on polyacrylamides. Part I. Linear polyacrylamide Caulfield, Marcus J.; Hao, Xiaojuan; Qiao, Greg G. Polymer, Vol. 44, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0032-3861(03)00003-X	journal	March 2003
Multiaxial stress effects on fatigue behavior of filled natural rubber Mars, W.; Fatemi, A. International Journal of Fatigue, Vol. 28, Issue 5-6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfatigue.2005.07.040	journal	May 2006
Phase field simulations of ice crystal growth in sugar solutions van der Sman, R. G. M. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 95 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2015.11.089	journal	April 2016
A physically motivated anisotropic tensorial representation of damage with separate functions for void nucleation, growth, and coalescence Hammi, Y.; Horstemeyer, M. F. International Journal of Plasticity, Vol. 23, Issue 10-11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2007.03.010	journal	October 2007
Solution-Processed Cd-Substituted CZTS Photocathode for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Neutral Water Tay, Ying Fan; Kaneko, Hiroyuki; Chiam, Sing Yang Joule, Vol. 2, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.01.012	journal	March 2018
Influence of Bubbles on the Energy Conversion Efficiency of Electrochemical Reactors Angulo, Andrea; van der Linde, Peter; Gardeniers, Han Joule, Vol. 4, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2020.01.005	journal	March 2020
Bubble growth and departure modes on wettable/non-wettable porous foams in alkaline water splitting Iwata, Ryuichi; Zhang, Lenan; Wilke, Kyle L. Joule, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2021.02.015	journal	April 2021
On the mobility of carbon-supported platinum nanoparticles towards unveiling cathode degradation in water electrolysis Paciok, Paul; Schalenbach, Maximilian; Carmo, Marcelo Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 365 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2017.07.033	journal	October 2017
Non-destructive in-operando investigation of catalyst layer degradation for water electrolyzers using synchrotron radiography Panchenko, Olha; Carmo, Marcelo; Rasinski, Marcin Materials Today Energy, Vol. 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtener.2020.100394	journal	June 2020
Enhanced Performance of Si MIS Photocathodes Containing Oxide-Coated Nanoparticle Electrocatalysts Labrador, Natalie Y.; Li, Xinxin; Liu, Yukun Nano Letters, Vol. 16, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b02909	journal	September 2016
Membrane-Coated Electrocatalysts—An Alternative Approach To Achieving Stable and Tunable Electrocatalysis Esposito, Daniel V. ACS Catalysis, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.7b03374	journal	December 2017
Scalable Low-Band-Gap Sb₂Se₃ Thin-Film Photocathodes for Efficient Visible–Near-Infrared Solar Hydrogen Evolution Zhang, Li; Li, Yanbo; Li, Changli ACS Nano, Vol. 11, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.7b07512	journal	November 2017
Hydrogen-Treated TiO ₂ Nanowire Arrays for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Wang, Gongming; Wang, Hanyu; Ling, Yichuan Nano Letters, Vol. 11, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl201766h	journal	July 2011
Tough bonding of hydrogels to diverse non-porous surfaces Yuk, Hyunwoo; Zhang, Teng; Lin, Shaoting Nature Materials, Vol. 15, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4463	journal	November 2015
WS2 moiré superlattices derived from mechanical flexibility for hydrogen evolution reaction Xie, Lingbin; Wang, Longlu; Zhao, Weiwei Nature Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25381-1	journal	August 2021
Hydrogel protection strategy to stabilize water-splitting photoelectrodes Tan, Jeiwan; Kang, Byungjun; Kim, Kyungmin Nature Energy, Vol. 7, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01042-5	journal	June 2022
Boosting the performance of Cu2O photocathodes for unassisted solar water splitting devices Pan, Linfeng; Kim, Jin Hyun; Mayer, Matthew T. Nature Catalysis, Vol. 1, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-018-0077-6	journal	May 2018
Polymer-based photocathodes with a solution-processable cuprous iodide anode layer and a polyethyleneimine protective coating Rojas, Hansel Comas; Bellani, Sebastiano; Fumagalli, Francesco Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 9, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EE01655C	journal	January 2016
Toward practical solar hydrogen production – an artificial photosynthetic leaf-to-farm challenge Kim, Jin Hyun; Hansora, Dharmesh; Sharma, Pankaj Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 48, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CS00699G	journal	January 2019
Strategies for enhancing the photocurrent, photovoltage, and stability of photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting Yang, Wooseok; Prabhakar, Rajiv Ramanujam; Tan, Jeiwan Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 48, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CS00997J	journal	January 2019
Gas bubble evolution on microstructured silicon substrates van der Linde, Peter; Peñas-López, Pablo; Moreno Soto, Álvaro Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 11, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EE02657B	journal	January 2018
The wettability of gas bubbles: from macro behavior to nano structures to applications Huang, Can; Guo, Zhiguang Nanoscale, Vol. 10, Issue 42 https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR07315E	journal	January 2018
Superaerophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces as advanced electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction: a comprehensive review Andaveh, R.; Barati Darband, Gh.; Maleki, M. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 10, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TA10519A	journal	January 2022
Gas, tubes and flow Mitchell, Viki Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1053/j.mpaic.2006.10.003	journal	January 2007
Determination of Acrylamide Monomer in Polyacrylamide Degradation Studies by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Ver Vers, L. M. Journal of Chromatographic Science, Vol. 37, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1093/chromsci/37.12.486	journal	December 1999
Superaerophobic hydrogels for enhanced electrochemical and photoelectrochemical hydrogen production Jeon, Dasom; Park, Jinwoo; Shin, Changhwan Science Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz3944	journal	April 2020
Nanoporous BiVO₄ Photoanodes with Dual-Layer Oxygen Evolution Catalysts for Solar Water Splitting Kim, Tae Woo; Choi, Kyoung-Shin Science, Vol. 343, Issue 6174, p. 990-994 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1246913	journal	February 2014
Net-zero emissions energy systems Davis, Steven J.; Lewis, Nathan S.; Shaner, Matthew Science, Vol. 360, Issue 6396 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aas9793	journal	June 2018
Review—Physicochemical Hydrodynamics of Gas Bubbles in Two Phase Electrochemical Systems Taqieddin, Amir; Nazari, Roya; Rajic, Ljiljana Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 164, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1161713jes	journal	January 2017
Review: 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) Deposition Methods on Oxide Surfaces in Solution and Vapor Phases for Biosensing Applications Sypabekova, Marzhan; Hagemann, Aidan; Rho, Donggee Biosensors, Vol. 13, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/bios13010036	journal	December 2022

Similar Records

Enabling unassisted solar water splitting by iron oxide and silicon

Journal Article · 2015 · Nature Communications · OSTI ID:1256030

Jang, Ji-Wook; Du, Chun; Ye, Yifan; +9 more

Demonstration of photoreactor platform for on-sun unassisted photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation with tandem III–V photoelectrodes

Journal Article · 2022 · Chem Catalysis · OSTI ID:1860240

Ben-Naim, Micha; Aldridge, Chase W.; Steiner, Myles A.; +4 more

Integrating computation and experiment to investigate photoelectrodes for solar water splitting at the microscopic scale.

Journal Article · 2021 · Accounts of Chemical Research · OSTI ID:1869203

Wang, Wennie; Radmilovic, Andjela; Choi, Kyoung-Shin; +1 more

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING

Title: Stable water splitting using photoelectrodes with a cryogelated overlayer

Citation Formats

References (39)

Similar Records

Related Subjects