Lhermitte CR, Polo A, Yao L, Boudoire FA, Guijarro N, Sivula K. Generalized Synthesis to Produce Transparent Thin Films of Ternary Metal Oxide Photoelectrodes.
CHEMSUSCHEM 2020;
13:3645-3653. [PMID:
32372487 DOI:
10.1002/cssc.202000926]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Developing facile approaches to prepare non-light-scattering ternary oxide thin film photoelectrodes is an important goal for solar water splitting tandem cells. Herein, a novel synthesis route is reported that employs ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to enable compatible water solubility of diverse metal cations, which affords transparent films by solution processing. By using BiVO4 as a model material, a remarkable improvement in transparency is demonstrated, quantified by the direct transmittance at 600 nm of >80 % versus the <10 % observed with state-of-the-art electrodeposited thin films while maintaining reasonable solar-driven oxidation photocurrents (1.75 mA cm-2 in the presence of a sulfite hole scavenger). Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the synthesis technique can be applied in a general fashion towards the synthesis of diverse n- and p-type metal oxide materials, such as ZnFe2 O4 and CuFeO2 .
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