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Liang J, Liu P, Xie S, Liu Q, Wang J, Guo J, Wu H, Wang W, Li G. Anodic Reconstructed p +-GaAs/a-InAsN for Stable and Efficient Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Evolution. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2400096. [PMID: 38516956 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202400096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
The extremely poor solution stability and massive carrier recombination have seriously prevented III-V semiconductor nanomaterials from efficient and stable hydrogen production. In this work, an anodic reconstruction strategy based on group III-V active semiconductors is proposed for the first time, resulting in 19-times photo-gain. What matters most is that the device after anodic reconstruction shows very superior stability under the protracted photoelectrochemical (PEC) test over 8100 s, while the final photocurrent density does not decrease but rather increases by 63.15%. Using the experiment and DFT theoretical calculation, the anodic reconstruction mechanism is elucidated: through the oxidation of indium clusters and the migration of arsenic atoms, the reconstruction formed p+-GaAs/a-InAsN. The hole concentration of the former is increased by 10 times (5.64 × 1018 cm-1 increases up to 5.95 × 1019 cm-1) and the band gap of the latter one is reduced to a semi-metallic state, greatly strengthening the driving force of PEC water splitting. This work turns waste into treasure, transferring the solution instability into better efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiehui Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Optoelectronics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Peixin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Shaohua Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Qianhu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Optoelectronics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Junkun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Physics and Optoelectronics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Jiansen Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Haoyang Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Wenliang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Guoqiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Department of Electronic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
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Chen G, Li H, Zhang H, Liu J, Xie L, Xie X, Liu G. Investigations of the photoelectrochemical properties of different contents In of InxGa1-xN in CO2 reduction. RESEARCH ON CHEMICAL INTERMEDIATES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11164-021-04556-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Enhanced charge separation and interfacial charge transfer of InGaN nanorods/C3N4 heterojunction photoanode. Electrochim Acta 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2019.134844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Li Z, Li D, Wu A, Ruan R, Xu Z. Fabrication of GaN truncated nanocone array using a pre-deposited metallic nano-hemispheres template for efficient solar water splitting. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2019; 30:405302. [PMID: 31247599 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab2d7e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The GaN truncated nanocone is an excellent candidate for better photoelectrochemical efficiency than other GaN nanostructures. Here the highly ordered GaN truncated nanocone array was fabricated using a pre-deposited metallic nano-hemispheres template on a wafer scale. The highly ordered profiles of pre-deposited metallic nano-hemispheres template were defined by anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) masks through electron beam evaporation. The formation mechanism for the profiles of nano-hemispheres and GaN truncated nanocones were investigated. The results elucidate that proper selection of AAO parameters enables controllability of desired profiles and depth of Cr nano-hemispheres template, further controllability of desired profiles and depth of the GaN truncated nanocones. The optical and photoelectrochemical characterizations show the substantial improvements in ultraviolet light absorption and photoelectrochemical efficiency with photocurrent density by 300% times with respect to planar counterpart. The presented synthetic strategy will pave the way towards low-cost and mass production of GaN truncated nanocone photoelectrode for efficient photocatalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeping Li
- School of Electronic Information and Engineering, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning 437005, People's Republic of China. School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China
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Zhang H, Ebaid M, Tan J, Liu G, Min JW, Ng TK, Ooi BS. Improved solar hydrogen production by engineered doping of InGaN/GaN axial heterojunctions. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:A81-A91. [PMID: 30876005 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.000a81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
InGaN-based nanowires (NWs) have been investigated as efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting devices. In this work, the InGaN/GaN NWs were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) having InGaN segments on top of GaN seeds. Three axial heterojunction structures were constructed with different doping types and levels, namely n-InGaN/n-GaN NWs, undoped (u)-InGaN/p-GaN NWs, and p-InGaN/p-GaN NWs. With the carrier concentrations estimated by Mott-Schottky measurements, a PC1D simulation further confirmed the band structures of the three heterojunctions. The u-InGaN/p-GaN and p-InGaN/p-GaN NWs exhibited optimized stability in pH 0 electrolytes for over 10 h with a photocurrent density of about -4.0 and -9.4 mA/cm2, respectively. However, the hydrogen and oxygen evolution rates of the Pt-treated u-InGaN/p-GaN NWs exhibited a less favorable stoichiometric ratio. On the other hand, the Pt-decorated p-InGaN/p-GaN NWs showed the best PEC performance, generating approximately 1000 µmol/cm2 hydrogen and 550 µmol/cm2 oxygen in 10 h. The band-engineered p-InGaN/p-GaN axial NWs-heterojunction demonstrated a great potential for highly efficient and durable photocathodes.
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ElAfandy RT, Ebaid M, Min JW, Zhao C, Ng TK, Ooi BS. Flexible InGaN nanowire membranes for enhanced solar water splitting. OPTICS EXPRESS 2018; 26:A640-A650. [PMID: 30114053 DOI: 10.1364/oe.26.00a640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
III-Nitride nanowires (NWs) have recently emerged as potential photoelectrodes for efficient solar hydrogen generation. While InGaN NWs epitaxy over silicon is required for high crystalline quality and economic production, it leads to the formation of the notorious silicon nitride insulating interface as well as low electrical conductivity which both impede excess charge carrier dynamics and overall device performance. We tackle this issue by developing, for the first time, a substrate-free InGaN NWs membrane photoanodes, through liftoff and transfer techniques, where excess charge carriers are efficiently extracted from the InGaN NWs through a proper ohmic contact formed with a high electrical conductivity metal stack membrane. As a result, compared to conventional InGaN NWs on silicon, the fabricated free-standing flexible membranes showed a 10-fold increase in the generated photocurrent as well as a 0.8 V cathodic shift in the onset potential. Through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, accompanied with TEM-based analysis, we further demonstrated the detailed enhancement within excess charge carrier dynamics of the photoanode membranes. This novel configuration in photoelectrodes demonstrates a novel pathway for enhancing the performance of III-nitrides photoelectrodes to accelerate their commercialization for solar water splitting.
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Yang C, Xi X, Yu Z, Cao H, Li J, Lin S, Ma Z, Zhao L. Light Modulation and Water Splitting Enhancement Using a Composite Porous GaN Structure. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:5492-5497. [PMID: 29350908 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b15344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
On the basis of the laterally porous GaN, we designed and fabricated a composite porous GaN structure with both well-ordered lateral and vertical holes. Compared to the plane GaN, the composite porous GaN structure with the combination of the vertical holes can help to reduce UV reflectance and increase the saturation photocurrent during water splitting by a factor of ∼4.5. Furthermore, we investigated the underlying mechanism for the enhancement of the water splitting performance using a finite-difference time-domain method. The results show that the well-ordered vertical holes can not only help to open the embedded pore channels to the electrolyte at both sides and reduce the migration distance of the gas bubbles during the water splitting reactions but also help to modulate the light field. Using this composite porous GaN structure, most of the incident light can be modulated and trapped into the nanoholes, and thus the electric fields localized in the lateral pores can increase dramatically as a result of the strong optical coupling. Our findings pave a new way to develop GaN photoelectrodes for highly efficient solar water splitting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Yang
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xin Xi
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhiguo Yu
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Haicheng Cao
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jing Li
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shan Lin
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhanhong Ma
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Lixia Zhao
- Semiconductor Lighting Research and Development Center, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. A35, Qinghua East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , No. 19A, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
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Su J, Wei Y, Vayssieres L. Stability and Performance of Sulfide-, Nitride-, and Phosphide-Based Electrodes for Photocatalytic Solar Water Splitting. J Phys Chem Lett 2017; 8:5228-5238. [PMID: 28972772 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b00772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
With the past decade of worldwide sustained efforts on artificial photosynthesis for photocatalytic solar water splitting and clean hydrogen generation by dedicated researchers and engineers from different disciplines, substantial progress has been achieved in raising its overall efficiency along with finding new photocatalysts. Various materials, systems, devices, and better fundamental understandings of the interplay between interfacial chemistry, electronic structure, and photogenerated charge dynamics involved have been developed. Nevertheless, the overall photocatalytic performance is yet to achieve its maximum theoretical limit. Moreover, the stability of well-known semiconductors (as well as novel ones) remains the biggest challenge that scientists are facing to develop durable industrial-scale devices for large-scale water oxidation and overall solar water splitting. In this Perspective, we summarize the major achievements and the different approaches carried out to improve the stability and performance of photoelectrodes based on sulfide, nitride, and phosphide semiconductors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinzhan Su
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy (IRCRE), State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Yankuan Wei
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy (IRCRE), State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China
| | - Lionel Vayssieres
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy (IRCRE), State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China
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Varadhan P, Fu HC, Priante D, Retamal JRD, Zhao C, Ebaid M, Ng TK, Ajia I, Mitra S, Roqan IS, Ooi BS, He JH. Surface Passivation of GaN Nanowires for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water-Splitting. NANO LETTERS 2017; 17:1520-1528. [PMID: 28177248 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical water-splitting is a key source of clean and sustainable energy. The use of one-dimensional nanostructures as photoelectrodes is desirable for photoelectrochemical water-splitting applications due to the ultralarge surface areas, lateral carrier extraction schemes, and superior light-harvesting capabilities. However, the unavoidable surface states of nanostructured materials create additional charge carrier trapping centers and energy barriers at the semiconductor-electrolyte interface, which severely reduce the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency. In this work, we address the issue of surface states in GaN nanowire photoelectrodes by employing a simple and low-cost surface treatment method, which utilizes an organic thiol compound (i.e., 1,2-ethanedithiol). The surface-treated photocathode showed an enhanced photocurrent density of -31 mA/cm2 at -0.2 V versus RHE with an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 18.3%, whereas untreated nanowires yielded only 8.1% efficiency. Furthermore, the surface passivation provides enhanced photoelectrochemical stability as surface-treated nanowires retained ∼80% of their initial photocurrent value and produced 8000 μmol of gas molecules over 55 h at acidic conditions (pH ∼ 0), whereas the untreated nanowires demonstrated only <4 h of photoelectrochemical stability. These findings shed new light on the importance of surface passivation of nanostructured photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Purushothaman Varadhan
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hui-Chun Fu
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Davide Priante
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jose Ramon Duran Retamal
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Chao Zhao
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohamed Ebaid
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tien Khee Ng
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Idirs Ajia
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Somak Mitra
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Iman S Roqan
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Boon S Ooi
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jr-Hau He
- Electrical Engineering Program and ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) , Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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Kibria MG, Qiao R, Yang W, Boukahil I, Kong X, Chowdhury FA, Trudeau ML, Ji W, Guo H, Himpsel FJ, Vayssieres L, Mi Z. Atomic-Scale Origin of Long-Term Stability and High Performance of p-GaN Nanowire Arrays for Photocatalytic Overall Pure Water Splitting. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2016; 28:8388-8397. [PMID: 27456856 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201602274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Revised: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The atomic-scale origin of the unusually high performance and long-term stability of wurtzite p-GaN oriented nanowire arrays is revealed. Nitrogen termination of both the polar (0001¯) top face and the nonpolar (101¯0) side faces of the nanowires is essential for long-term stability and high efficiency. Such a distinct atomic configuration ensures not only stability against (photo) oxidation in air and in water/electrolyte but, as importantly, also provides the necessary overall reverse crystal polarization needed for efficient hole extraction in p-GaN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Golam Kibria
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A0E9, Canada
| | - Ruimin Qiao
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Wanli Yang
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Idris Boukahil
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Xianghua Kong
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A2T8, Canada
- Department of Physics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Micro-Nano Devices, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Faqrul Alam Chowdhury
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A0E9, Canada
| | - Michel L Trudeau
- Science des Matériaux, IREQ, Hydro-Québec, Varennes, QC, J3×1S1, Canada
| | - Wei Ji
- Department of Physics and Beijing Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Functional Materials and Micro-Nano Devices, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Hong Guo
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A2T8, Canada
| | - F J Himpsel
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| | - Lionel Vayssieres
- International Research Center for Renewable Energy, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, P. R. China.
| | - Zetian Mi
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A0E9, Canada.
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