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Shor Peled S, Miriyala K, Rashkovskiy A, Fishov R, Gelberg V, Pelleg J, Grave DA. Enhanced Broadband Light Harvesting in Ultrathin Absorbers Enabled by Epitaxial Stabilization of Silver Thin Film Mirrors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023. [PMID: 38018144 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c14101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Silver thin film mirrors are attractive candidates for use as specular back reflectors to enhance broadband light absorption via strong optical interference in ultrathin film semiconductor photoabsorbers. However, deposition of metal-oxide absorbers often requires exposure to high temperature in an oxygen atmosphere, conditions that cause thermal etching and degrade the specular reflectance of silver films. Here, we overcome this challenge and demonstrate that epitaxial growth of silver mitigates thermal etching under the high-temperature oxygen-containing environments that cause polycrystalline films to degrade. The degree of thermal etching resistance is related to the epitaxial film structure, where high-quality films completely prevent thermal etching, allowing for direct deposition of metal-oxide thin film photoabsorbers at elevated temperatures without any degradation of the optical properties of the silver layer. As a proof of concept for device applications, a metal-oxide photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting is fabricated by directly growing epitaxial SnO2 and Ti-doped α-Fe2O3 (hematite) thin films onto stabilized silver reflectors by pulsed laser deposition. The photoanode displays enhanced broadband light absorption due to strong interference effects enabled by the highly reflective silver film and demonstrates stable operation in a photoelectrochemical cell under conditions of water photo-oxidation in alkaline electrolyte.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sa'ar Shor Peled
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Kumaraswamy Miriyala
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Alexander Rashkovskiy
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Ron Fishov
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Vitali Gelberg
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Joshua Pelleg
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
| | - Daniel A Grave
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
- Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva 8410500, Israel
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Li J, Pan J, Yin W, Cai Y, Huang H, He Y, Gong G, Yuan Y, Fan C, Zhang Q, Wang L. Recent status and advanced progress of tip effect induced by micro-nanostructure. CHINESE CHEM LETT 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2022.108049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Elishav O, Stone D, Tsyganok A, Jayanthi S, Ellis DS, Yeshurun T, Maor II, Levi A, Beilin V, Shter GE, Yerushalmi R, Rothschild A, Banin U, Grader GS. Composite Indium Tin Oxide Nanofibers with Embedded Hematite Nanoparticles for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:41851-41860. [PMID: 36094823 PMCID: PMC9501920 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c05424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Hematite is a classical photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting due to its stability, performance, and low cost. However, the effect of particle size is still a question due to the charge transfer to the electrodes. In this work, we addressed this subject by the fabrication of a photoelectrode with hematite nanoparticles embedded in close contact with the electrode substrate. The nanoparticles were synthesized by a solvothermal method and colloidal stabilization with charged hydroxide molecules, and we were able to further use them to prepare electrodes for water photo-oxidation. Hematite nanoparticles were embedded within electrospun tin-doped indium oxide nanofibers. The fibrous layer acted as a current collector scaffold for the nanoparticles, supporting the effective transport of charge carriers. This method allows better contact of the nanoparticles with the substrate, and also, the fibrous scaffold increases the optical density of the photoelectrode. Electrodes based on nanofibers with embedded nanoparticles display significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical performance compared to their flat nanoparticle-based layer counterparts. This nanofiber architecture increases the photocurrent density and photon-to-current internal conversion efficiency by factors of 2 and 10, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oren Elishav
- The
Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
| | - David Stone
- Institute
of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Anton Tsyganok
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion−Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
| | - Swetha Jayanthi
- Institute
of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - David S. Ellis
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion−Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
| | - Tamir Yeshurun
- Faculty
of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 6997801, Israel
| | - Itzhak I. Maor
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 Israel
| | - Adar Levi
- Institute
of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Vadim Beilin
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 Israel
| | - Gennady E. Shter
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 Israel
| | - Roie Yerushalmi
- Institute
of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Avner Rothschild
- The
Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Technion−Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
| | - Uri Banin
- Institute
of Chemistry and the Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904 Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Gideon S. Grader
- The
Nancy & Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200002, Israel
- The
Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion−Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003 Israel
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Achieving efficient power generation by designing bioinspired and multi-layered interfacial evaporator. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5077. [PMID: 36038582 PMCID: PMC9424234 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32820-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Water evaporation is a natural phase change phenomenon occurring any time and everywhere. Enormous efforts have been made to harvest energy from this ubiquitous process by leveraging on the interaction between water and materials with tailored structural, chemical and thermal properties. Here, we develop a multi-layered interfacial evaporation-driven nanogenerator (IENG) that further amplifies the interaction by introducing additional bionic light-trapping structure for efficient light to heat and electric generation on the top and middle of the device. Notable, we also rationally design the bottom layer for sufficient water transport and storage. We demonstrate the IENG performs a spectacular continuous power output as high as 11.8 μW cm−2 under optimal conditions, more than 6.8 times higher than the currently reported average value. We hope this work can provide a new bionic strategy using multiple natural energy sources for effective power generation. The energy harvesting from ubiquitous natural water evaporation offers a great green energy source. Here, the authors report a bioinspired and multi-layered interfacial evaporation-driven nanogeneration strategy for efficient light-to-heat and electricity generation with continuous power output.
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Wang L, Cui X, Xu Y, Anpo M, Fang Y. Sustainable photoanode for water oxidation reactions: from metal-based to metal-free materials. Chem Commun (Camb) 2022; 58:10469-10479. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cc03803j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Sunlight affords an inexhaustible and primary energy for Earth. A photoelectrochemical system can efficiently harvest solar energy and convert it into chemicals. However, sophisticated processes and expensive raw materials are...
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Kim K, Yang J, Moon JH. Unveiling the Effects of Nanostructures and Core Materials on Charge-Transport Dynamics in Heterojunction Electrodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:21894-21902. [PMID: 32366085 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c03958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the photogenerated charge-transport dynamics of metal oxide electrodes is the key to providing a strategy for practical improvement in the photoelectrochemical reaction activity. Here, we analyze the electron transport of a 3D bicontinuous SnO2/BiVO4 nanostructured photoelectrode by intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy. We compare this electrode with 3D WO3/BiVO4 and planar-type bilayer SnO2/BiVO4 electrodes. In the results, we observe an order of magnitude faster electron transport in the 3D electrodes relative to the bilayer electrode. Moreover, we observe trap-limited transport on widely applied WO3/BiVO4 electrodes but confirm rapid trap-free transport on 3D SnO2/BiVO4. We also characterize the effect of electron transport on the water-splitting reaction. The electron-transport rate is directly related to the charge-separation efficiency in the water-splitting reaction. The fast transport time of the 3D SnO2/BiVO4 leads to the achievement of a significantly higher charge separation efficiency of 94%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiwon Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Baekbeom-ro 35, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiwoo Yang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Baekbeom-ro 35, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Hyuk Moon
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Baekbeom-ro 35, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea
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