Printed assemblies of GaAs photoelectrodes with decoupled optical and reactive interfaces for unassisted solar water splitting

Kang, Dongseok; Young, James L.; Lim, Haneol; Klein, Walter E.; Chen, Huandong; Xi, Yuzhou; Gai, Boju; Deutsch, Todd G.; Yoon, Jongseung

doi:10.1038/nenergy.2017.43

Title: Printed assemblies of GaAs photoelectrodes with decoupled optical and reactive interfaces for unassisted solar water splitting

Journal Article · Mon Mar 27 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Nature Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2017.43· OSTI ID:1351865

Kang, Dongseok ^[1];

^[2]; Lim, Haneol ^[1]; Klein, Walter E. ^[2]; Chen, Huandong ^[1]; Xi, Yuzhou ^[1]; Gai, Boju ^[1]; Deutsch, Todd G. ^[2]; Yoon, Jongseung ^[3]

Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

Despite their excellent photophysical properties and record-high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency, the high cost and limited stability of III-V compound semiconductors prohibit their practical application in solar-driven photoelectrochemical water splitting. Here in this paper we present a strategy for III-V photocatalysis that can circumvent these difficulties via printed assemblies of epitaxially grown compound semiconductors. A thin film stack of GaAs-based epitaxial materials is released from the growth wafer and printed onto a non-native transparent substrate to form an integrated photocatalytic electrode for solar hydrogen generation. The heterogeneously integrated electrode configuration together with specialized epitaxial design serve to decouple the material interfaces for illumination and electrocatalysis. Subsequently, this allows independent control and optimization of light absorption, carrier transport, charge transfer, and material stability. Using this approach, we construct a series-connected wireless tandem system of GaAs photoelectrodes and demonstrate 13.1% solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of unassisted-mode water splitting.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainable Transportation Office. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1351865

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5900-66906

Journal Information:: Nature Energy, Vol. 2, Issue 5; ISSN 2058-7546

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 92 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (49)

A silicon-based photocathode for water reduction with an epitaxial SrTiO3 protection layer and a nanostructured catalyst Ji, Li; McDaniel, Martin D.; Wang, Shijun Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.277	journal	December 2014
Adaptive semiconductor/electrocatalyst junctions in water-splitting photoanodes Lin, Fuding; Boettcher, Shannon W. Nature Materials, Vol. 13, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3811	journal	December 2013
Thermodynamic stabilities of semiconductor electrodes Park, Su-Moon; Barber, Matthew E. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Interfacial Electrochemistry, Vol. 99, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0728(79)80411-8	journal	May 1979
Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode Fujishima, Akira; Honda, Kenichi Nature, Vol. 238, Issue 5358, p. 37-38 https://doi.org/10.1038/238037a0	journal	July 1972
A taxonomy for solar fuels generators Nielander, Adam C.; Shaner, Matthew R.; Papadantonakis, Kimberly M. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C4EE02251C	journal	January 2015
Nanostructured Silicon Photocathodes for Solar Water Splitting Patterned by the Self-Assembly of Lamellar Block Copolymers Shen, Lang; He, Chunlin; Qiu, Jing ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 7, Issue 47 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b08661	journal	November 2015
Quantitative analysis of the levelized cost of electricity of commercial scale photovoltaics systems in the US Kang, Moon Hee; Rohatgi, Ajeet Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 154 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2016.04.046	journal	September 2016
Dramatically Enhanced Performance of Flexible Micro-VCSELs via Thermally Engineered Heterogeneous Composite Assemblies Kang, Dongseok; Lee, Sung-Min; Kwong, Anthony Advanced Optical Materials, Vol. 3, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.201400521	journal	March 2015
Powering the planet: Chemical challenges in solar energy utilization Lewis, N. S.; Nocera, D. G. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 103, Issue 43, p. 15729-15735 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0603395103	journal	October 2006
Translation of device performance measurements to reference conditions Osterwald, C. R. Solar Cells, Vol. 18, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(86)90126-2	journal	September 1986
Printable Nanostructured Silicon Solar Cells for High-Performance, Large-Area Flexible Photovoltaics Lee, Sung-Min; Biswas, Roshni; Li, Weigu ACS Nano, Vol. 8, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/nn503884z	journal	October 2014
Flexible concentrator photovoltaics based on microscale silicon solar cells embedded in luminescent waveguides Yoon, Jongseung; Li, Lanfang; Semichaevsky, Andrey V. Nature Communications, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1318	journal	June 2011
Recent theoretical progress in the development of photoanode materials for solar water splitting photoelectrochemical cells Bhatt, Mahesh Datt; Lee, Jae Sung Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 3, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA00257E	journal	January 2015
Semiconductor electrodes. 48. Photooxidation of halides and water on n-silicon protected with silicide layers Fan, Fu Ren F.; Keil, R. Gerald; Bard, Allen J. Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 105, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00340a013	journal	January 1983
40% efficient metamorphic GaInP∕GaInAs∕Ge multijunction solar cells King, R. R.; Law, D. C.; Edmondson, K. M. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 90, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2734507	journal	April 2007
GaAs photovoltaics and optoelectronics using releasable multilayer epitaxial assemblies Yoon, Jongseung; Jo, Sungjin; Chun, Ik Su Nature, Vol. 465, Issue 7296 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09054	journal	May 2010
Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency: shining light on photoelectrochemical device performance Döscher, H.; Young, J. L.; Geisz, J. F. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE03206G	journal	January 2016
Methods for comparing the performance of energy-conversion systems for use in solar fuels and solar electricity generation Coridan, Robert H.; Nielander, Adam C.; Francis, Sonja A. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE00777A	journal	January 2015
Design guidelines for concentrated photo-electrochemical water splitting devices based on energy and greenhouse gas yield ratios Dumortier, Mikaël; Haussener, Sophia Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE01269D	journal	January 2015
High-Performance Silicon Photoanodes Passivated with Ultrathin Nickel Films for Water Oxidation Kenney, M. J.; Gong, M.; Li, Y. Science, Vol. 342, Issue 6160 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1241327	journal	November 2013
A monolithically integrated, intrinsically safe, 10% efficient, solar-driven water-splitting system based on active, stable earth-abundant electrocatalysts in conjunction with tandem III–V light absorbers protected by amorphous TiO ₂ films Verlage, Erik; Hu, Shu; Liu, Rui Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE01786F	journal	January 2015
Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes Scheuermann, Andrew G.; Lawrence, John P.; Kemp, Kyle W. Nature Materials, Vol. 15, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4451	journal	October 2015
Spectroscopic Characterization of Mixed Fe–Ni Oxide Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Electrolytes Landon, James; Demeter, Ethan; İnoğlu, Nilay ACS Catalysis, Vol. 2, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1021/cs3002644	journal	July 2012
Epitaxial lift-off process for gallium arsenide substrate reuse and flexible electronics Cheng, Cheng-Wei; Shiu, Kuen-Ting; Li, Ning Nature Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2583	journal	March 2013
p-Type InP Nanopillar Photocathodes for Efficient Solar-Driven Hydrogen Production Lee, Min Hyung; Takei, Kuniharu; Zhang, Junjun Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 51, Issue 43 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201203174	journal	September 2012
Efficient solar water splitting by enhanced charge separation in a bismuth vanadate-silicon tandem photoelectrode Abdi, Fatwa F.; Han, Lihao; Smets, Arno H. M. Nature Communications, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3195	journal	July 2013
A monolithic device for solar water splitting based on series interconnected thin film absorbers reaching over 10% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency Jacobsson, T. Jesper; Fjällström, Viktor; Sahlberg, Martin Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 6, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee42519c	journal	January 2013
Atomic layer-deposited tunnel oxide stabilizes silicon photoanodes for water oxidation Chen, Yi Wei; Prange, Jonathan D.; Dühnen, Simon Nature Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3047	journal	June 2011
Water reduction by a p-GaInP2 photoelectrode stabilized by an amorphous TiO2 coating and a molecular cobalt catalyst Gu, Jing; Yan, Yong; Young, James L. Nature Materials, Vol. 15, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4511	journal	December 2015
Amorphous TiO2 coatings stabilize Si, GaAs, and GaP photoanodes for efficient water oxidation Hu, S.; Shaner, M. R.; Beardslee, J. A. Science, Vol. 344, Issue 6187 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1251428	journal	May 2014
Artificial Photosynthesis for Sustainable Fuel and Chemical Production Kim, Dohyung; Sakimoto, Kelsey K.; Hong, Dachao Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 54, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201409116	journal	January 2015
Electrode Reaction of GaAs Metal Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors in Deionized Water Hagio, Masahiro Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 140, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2220832	journal	January 1993
Solar Water Splitting Cells Walter, Michael G.; Warren, Emily L.; McKone, James R. Chemical Reviews, Vol. 110, Issue 11, p. 6446-6473 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr1002326	journal	November 2010
Extreme selectivity in the lift‐off of epitaxial GaAs films Yablonovitch, Eli; Gmitter, T.; Harbison, J. P. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 51, Issue 26, p. 2222-2224 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.98946	journal	December 1987
A High Yield Synthesis of Ligand-Free Iridium Oxide Nanoparticles with High Electrocatalytic Activity Zhao, Yixin; Hernandez-Pagan, Emil A.; Vargas-Barbosa, Nella M. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol. 2, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1021/jz200051c	journal	February 2011
Anodic Deposition of Colloidal Iridium Oxide Thin Films from Hexahydroxyiridate(IV) Solutions Zhao, Yixin; Vargas-Barbosa, Nella M.; Hernandez-Pagan, Emil A. Small, Vol. 7, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201100485	journal	June 2011
A Monolithic Photovoltaic-Photoelectrochemical Device for Hydrogen Production via Water Splitting Khaselev, O. Science, Vol. 280, Issue 5362 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5362.425	journal	April 1998
Technical and economic feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry Pinaud, Blaise A.; Benck, Jesse D.; Seitz, Linsey C. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 6, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee40831k	journal	January 2013
Photoelectrochemical etching of p ‐GaAs Ostermayer, F. W.; Kohl, P. A. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 39, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.92522	journal	July 1981
Wafer bonded four-junction GaInP/GaAs//GaInAsP/GaInAs concentrator solar cells with 44.7% efficiency: Wafer bonded four-junction concentrator solar cells with 44.7% efficiency Dimroth, Frank; Grave, Matthias; Beutel, Paul Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 22, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2475	journal	January 2014
Solar Energy Supply and Storage for the Legacy and Nonlegacy Worlds Cook, Timothy R.; Dogutan, Dilek K.; Reece, Steven Y. Chemical Reviews, Vol. 110, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr100246c	journal	November 2010
Surface Composition of n-GaAs Cathodes during Hydrogen Evolution Characterized by In Situ Ultraviolet-Visible Ellipsometry and In Situ Infrared Spectroscopy Erné, B. H. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 145, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.1838283	journal	January 1998
Low overvoltage electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolving electrodes☆ Brown, D.; Mahmood, M.; Turner, A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 7, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/0360-3199(82)90051-9	journal	January 1982
Nickel oxide functionalized silicon for efficient photo-oxidation of water Sun, Ke; Park, Namseok; Sun, Zhelin Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 5, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ee21708b	journal	January 2012
High Performance Ultrathin GaAs Solar Cells Enabled with Heterogeneously Integrated Dielectric Periodic Nanostructures Lee, Sung-Min; Kwong, Anthony; Jung, Daehwan ACS Nano, Vol. 9, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b05585	journal	September 2015
Carbon-doped GaAs single junction solar microcells grown in multilayer epitaxial assemblies Kang, Dongseok; Arab, Shermin; Cronin, Stephen B. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 102, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4812399	journal	June 2013
Amorphous Si Thin Film Based Photocathodes with High Photovoltage for Efficient Hydrogen Production Lin, Yongjing; Battaglia, Corsin; Boccard, Mathieu Nano Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl403265k	journal	October 2013
Crystalline silicon photovoltaics: a cost analysis framework for determining technology pathways to reach baseload electricity costs Powell, D. M.; Winkler, M. T.; Choi, H. J. Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ee03489a	journal	January 2012
p-Type InP Nanopillar Photocathodes for Efficient Solar-Driven Hydrogen Production Lee, Min Hyung; Takei, Kuniharu; Zhang, Junjun Angewandte Chemie, Vol. 124, Issue 43 https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201203174	journal	September 2012

Cited By (22)

Tungsten Trioxide Nanostructures for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Material Engineering and Charge Carrier Dynamic Manipulation Wang, Yidan; Tian, Wei; Chen, Cheng Advanced Functional Materials, Vol. 29, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201809036	journal	March 2019
Photoelectrocatalytic Materials for Solar Water Splitting Yao, Tingting; An, Xiurui; Han, Hongxian Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 8, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201800210	journal	May 2018
Tailored TiO ₂ Protection Layer Enabled Efficient and Stable Microdome Structured p‐GaAs Photoelectrochemical Cathodes Cao, Shiyao; Kang, Zhuo; Yu, Yanhao Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201902985	journal	January 2020
Printed assemblies of microscale triple‐junction inverted metamorphic GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs solar cells Gai, Boju; Geisz, John F.; Friedman, Daniel J. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 27, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3127	journal	March 2019
Crystalline TiO2 protective layer with graded oxygen defects for efficient and stable silicon-based photocathode Zheng, Jianyun; Lyu, Yanhong; Wang, Ruilun Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05580-z	journal	September 2018
High performance III-V photoelectrodes for solar water splitting via synergistically tailored structure and stoichiometry Lim, Haneol; Young, James L.; Geisz, John F. Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11351-1	journal	July 2019
An efficient and stable photoelectrochemical system with 9% solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency via InGaP/GaAs double junction Varadhan, Purushothaman; Fu, Hui-Chun; Kao, Yu-Cheng Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12977-x	journal	November 2019
Conductive layer protected and oxide catalyst-coated thin-film silicon solar cell as an efficient photoanode Wang, Ning; Liu, Min; Liang, Junhui Catalysis Science & Technology, Vol. 7, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cy01862b	journal	January 2017
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
Thin film photoelectrodes for solar water splitting He, Yumin; Hamann, Thomas; Wang, Dunwei Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 48, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8cs00868j	journal	January 2019
Si photocathode with Ag-supported dendritic Cu catalyst for CO ₂ reduction Gurudayal, Gurudayal; Beeman, Jeffrey W.; Bullock, James Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ee03547d	journal	January 2019
Unassisted visible solar water splitting with efficient photoelectrodes sensitized by quantum dots synthesized via an environmentally friendly eutectic solvent-mediated approach Ghorpade, Uma V.; Suryawanshi, Mahesh P.; Shin, Seung Wook Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 6, Issue 45 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta05901b	journal	January 2018
Efficiency and stability of narrow-gap semiconductor-based photoelectrodes Zheng, Jianyun; Zhou, Huaijuan; Zou, Yuqin Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 12, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ee00524b	journal	January 2019
Quasi-hydrophilic black silicon photocathodes with inverted pyramid arrays for enhanced hydrogen generation Zhao, Shuai; Yuan, Guodong; Wang, Qi Nanoscale, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9nr06635g	journal	January 2020
A methodological review on material growth and synthesis of solar-driven water splitting photoelectrochemical cells Park, Kwangwook; Kim, Yeong Jae; Yoon, Taeho RSC Advances, Vol. 9, Issue 52 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ra05341g	journal	January 2019
Integration of electrocatalysts with silicon microcone arrays for minimization of optical and overpotential losses during sunlight-driven hydrogen evolution Yalamanchili, Sisir; Kempler, Paul A.; Papadantonakis, Kimberly M. Sustainable Energy & Fuels, Vol. 3, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9se00294d	journal	January 2019
Long-term stability studies of a semiconductor photoelectrode in three-electrode configuration Vanka, Srinivas; Sun, Kai; Zeng, Guosong Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 7, Issue 48 https://doi.org/10.1039/c9ta09926c	journal	January 2019
Stretchable, skin-conformal microscale surface-emitting lasers with dynamically tunable spectral and directional selectivity Kang, Dongseok; Chen, Huandong; Yoon, Jongseung Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 114, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5080947	journal	January 2019
Photoelectrochemical cells for solar hydrogen production: Challenges and opportunities Chiu, Yi-Hsuan; Lai, Ting-Hsuan; Kuo, Ming-Yu APL Materials, Vol. 7, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5109785	journal	August 2019
Surface chemistry and photoelectrochemistry—Case study on tantalum nitride He, Yumin; Chen, Rong; Fa, Wenjun The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 151, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5122996	journal	October 2019
Semiconductor nanoheterostructures for photoconversion applications Fang, Mei-Jing; Tsao, Chun-Wen; Hsu, Yung-Jung Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/ab5f25	journal	January 2020
Nanostructured LaFeO ₃ Photocathodes with Onset Potentials for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Over 1.4 V vs. RHE Sun, Xin; Tiwari, Devendra; Fermin, David J. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 166, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0141915jes	journal	January 2019

Similar Records

Stable Unassisted Solar Water Splitting on Semiconductor Photocathodes Protected by Multifunctional GaN Nanostructures

Journal Article · Mon Jun 03 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · ACS Energy Letters · OSTI ID:1351865

Wang, Yongjie; Schwartz, Jonathan; Gim, Jiseok; +2 more

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

Journal Article · Thu Jan 20 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Chem Catalysis · OSTI ID:1351865

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

All-Perovskite Tandem Photoelectrodes for Unassisted Solar Hydrogen Production

Journal Article · Fri May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · ACS Energy Letters · OSTI ID:1351865

Song, Zhaoning; Li, Chongwen; Chen, Lei; +8 more

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
III-V water splitting
photoelectrolysis
epitaxial micro-array assemblies

Title: Printed assemblies of GaAs photoelectrodes with decoupled optical and reactive interfaces for unassisted solar water splitting

Citation Formats

References (49)

Cited By (22)

Similar Records

Related Subjects