Display options
Cite
Scheuermann AG, Lawrence JP, Kemp KW, et al. Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes. Nat Mater. 2015;15(1):99-105doi: 10.1038/nmat4451.
Scheuermann, A. G., Lawrence, J. P., Kemp, K. W., Ito, T., Walsh, A., Chidsey, C. E., Hurley, P. K., & McIntyre, P. C. (2016). Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes. Nature materials, 15(1), 99-105. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4451
Scheuermann, Andrew G, et al. "Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes." Nature materials vol. 15,1 (2016): 99-105. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4451
Scheuermann AG, Lawrence JP, Kemp KW, Ito T, Walsh A, Chidsey CE, Hurley PK, McIntyre PC. Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes. Nat Mater. 2016 Jan;15(1):99-105. doi: 10.1038/nmat4451. Epub 2015 Oct 19. PMID: 26480231.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

Nat Mater. 2016 Jan;15(1):99-105. doi: 10.1038/nmat4451. Epub 2015 Oct 19.

Design principles for maximizing photovoltage in metal-oxide-protected water-splitting photoanodes.

Nature materials

Andrew G Scheuermann, John P Lawrence, Kyle W Kemp, T Ito, Adrian Walsh, Christopher E D Chidsey, Paul K Hurley, Paul C McIntyre

Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
  2. Tokyo Electron Limited, Technology Development Center, 650, Hosaka-cho Mitsuzawa, Nirasaki, Yamanashi 407-0192, Japan.
  3. Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
  4. Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

PMID: 26480231 DOI: 10.1038/nmat4451

Abstract

Metal oxide protection layers for photoanodes may enable the development of large-scale solar fuel and solar chemical synthesis, but the poor photovoltages often reported so far will severely limit their performance. Here we report a novel observation of photovoltage loss associated with a charge extraction barrier imposed by the protection layer, and, by eliminating it, achieve photovoltages as high as 630 mV, the maximum reported so far for water-splitting silicon photoanodes. The loss mechanism is systematically probed in metal-insulator-semiconductor Schottky junction cells compared to buried junction p(+)n cells, revealing the need to maintain a characteristic hole density at the semiconductor/insulator interface. A leaky-capacitor model related to the dielectric properties of the protective oxide explains this loss, achieving excellent agreement with the data. From these findings, we formulate design principles for simultaneous optimization of built-in field, interface quality, and hole extraction to maximize the photovoltage of oxide-protected water-splitting anodes.

References

  1. Science. 2014 May 30;344(6187):1005-9 - PubMed
  2. Nature. 1972 Jul 7;238(5358):37-8 - PubMed
  3. Nature. 2001 Dec 6;414(6864):589-90 - PubMed
  4. J Am Chem Soc. 2015 Aug 5;137(30):9595-603 - PubMed
  5. Nature. 2001 Nov 15;414(6861):338-44 - PubMed
  6. ACS Nano. 2010 Jun 22;4(6):3374-80 - PubMed
  7. Science. 2013 Nov 15;342(6160):836-40 - PubMed
  8. Nat Mater. 2011 Jun 19;10(7):539-44 - PubMed
  9. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015 Jul 22;7(28):15189-99 - PubMed
  10. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Oct 24;103(43):15729-35 - PubMed
  11. J Phys Chem Lett. 2014 Oct 16;5(20):3456-61 - PubMed
  12. J Phys Chem Lett. 2014 Jun 5;5(11):1948-52 - PubMed
  13. Science. 1999 Jul 30;285(5428):687-9 - PubMed

Publication Types