Seebeck-voltage-triggered self-biased photoelectrochemical water splitting using HfOx/SiOx bi-layer protected Si photocathodes

A Switchable One-Compound Diode

A diode requires the combination of p- and n-type semiconductors or at least the defined formation of such areas within a given compound. This is a prerequisite for any IT application, energy conversion technology, and electronic semiconductor devices. Since the discovery of the pnp-switchable compound Ag₁₀ Te₄ Br₃ in 2009, it is in principle possible to fabricate a diode from a single material without adjusting the semiconduction type by a defined doping level. Often a structural phase transition accompanied by a dynamic change of charge carriers or a charge density wave within certain substructures are responsible for this effect. Unfortunately, the high pnp-switching temperature between 364 and 580 K hinders the application of this phenomenon in convenient devices. This effect is far removed from a suitable operation temperature at ambient conditions. Ag₁₈ Cu₃ Te₁₁ Cl₃  is a room temperature pnp-switching material and the first single-material position-independent diode. It shows the highest ever reported Seebeck coefficient drop that takes place within a few Kelvin. Combined with its low thermal conductivity, it offers great application potential within an accessible and applicable temperature window. Ag₁₈ Cu₃ Te₁₁ Cl₃ and pnp-switching materials have the potential for applications and processes where diodes, transistors, or any defined charge separation with junction formation are utilized.

Silicon Passivation by Ultrathin Hafnium Oxide Layer for Photoelectrochemical Applications

Hafnium oxide (HfO₂) films on silicon have the potential for application in photovoltaic devices. However, very little is known about the photoelectrochemical and protective properties of HfO₂ films on Si. In this study, ultrathin films of HfO₂ in the range of 15–70 nm were deposited on p-Si and Au substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD) identified the amorphous structure of the layers. Quartz crystal nanogravimetry (QCN) with Si and Au substrates indicated dynamics of electrolyte intake into the oxide film. No indications of oxide dissolution have been observed in acid (pH 3) and alkaline (pH 12) electrolytes. Mott–Schottky plots showed that the dark Si surface adjacent to the SiHfO₂ interface is positively charged in an acid electrolyte and negatively charged in an alkaline electrolyte. The number of photoelectrons was determined to be much greater than the doping level of silicon. The cathodic photoactivity of the p-Si electrode protected by HfO₂ films was studied with respect to the reaction of hydrogen reduction in acid and alkaline solutions. In acid solution, the film enhanced the reduction process when compared to that on the coating free electrode. The acceleration effect was explained in terms of prevention of silicon oxide formation, whose passivating capability is higher than that of hafnia films. In an alkaline electrolyte, an inhibition effect of the film was determined. Hafnia films protected Si from corrosion in this medium; however, at the same time, the film reduced electrode activity.

Emerging Chalcogenide Thin Films for Solar Energy Harvesting Devices

Chalcogenide semiconductors offer excellent optoelectronic properties for their use in solar cells, exemplified by the commercialization of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂- and CdTe-based photovoltaic technologies. Recently, several other chalcogenides have emerged as promising photoabsorbers for energy harvesting through the conversion of solar energy to electricity and fuels. The goal of this review is to summarize the development of emerging binary (Sb₂X₃, GeX, SnX), ternary (Cu₂SnX₃, Cu₂GeX₃, CuSbX₂, AgBiX₂), and quaternary (Cu₂ZnSnX₄, Ag₂ZnSnX₄, Cu₂CdSnX₄, Cu₂ZnGeX₄, Cu₂BaSnX₄) chalcogenides (X denotes S/Se), focusing especially on the comparative analysis of their optoelectronic performance metrics, electronic band structure, and point defect characteristics. The performance limiting factors of these photoabsorbers are discussed, together with suggestions for further improvement. Several relatively unexplored classes of chalcogenide compounds (such as chalcogenide perovskites, bichalcogenides, etc.) are highlighted, based on promising early reports on their optoelectronic properties. Finally, pathways for practical applications of emerging chalcogenides in solar energy harvesting are discussed against the backdrop of a market dominated by Si-based solar cells.

Water Splitting: From Electrode to Green Energy System

Hydrogen (H2) production is a latent feasibility of renewable clean energy. The industrial H2 production is obtained from reforming of natural gas, which consumes a large amount of nonrenewable energy and simultaneously produces greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Electrochemical water splitting is a promising approach for the H2 production, which is sustainable and pollution-free. Therefore, developing efficient and economic technologies for electrochemical water splitting has been an important goal for researchers around the world. The utilization of green energy systems to reduce overall energy consumption is more important for H2 production. Harvesting and converting energy from the environment by different green energy systems for water splitting can efficiently decrease the external power consumption. A variety of green energy systems for efficient producing H2, such as two-electrode electrolysis of water, water splitting driven by photoelectrode devices, solar cells, thermoelectric devices, triboelectric nanogenerator, pyroelectric device or electrochemical water-gas shift device, have been developed recently. In this review, some notable progress made in the different green energy cells for water splitting is discussed in detail. We hoped this review can guide people to pay more attention to the development of green energy system to generate pollution-free H2 energy, which will realize the whole process of H2 production with low cost, pollution-free and energy sustainability conversion.

Ultrathin Assembles of Porous Array for Enhanced H2 Evolution

Since the complexity of photocatalyst synthesis process and high cost of noble cocatalyst leftovers a major hurdle to producing hydrogen (H₂) from water, a noble metal-free Ni-Si/MgO photocatalyst was realized for the first time to generate H₂ effectively under illumination with visible light. The catalyst was produced by means of simple one-pot solid reaction using self-designed metal reactor. The physiochemical properties of photocatalyst were identified by XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, EDX, UV-visible, XPS, GC and PL. The photocatalytic activities of Ni-Si/MgO photocatalyst at different nickel concentrations were evaluated without adjusting pH, applied voltage, sacrificial agent or electron donor. The ultrathin-nanosheet with hierarchically porous structure of catalyst was found to exhibit higher photocatalytic H₂ production than hexagonal nanorods structured catalyst, which suggests that the randomly branched nanosheets are more active surface to increase the light-harvesting efficiency due to its short electron diffusion path. The catalyst exhibited remarkable performance reaching up to 714 µmolh⁻¹ which is higher among the predominant semiconductor catalyst. The results demonstrated that the photocatalytic reaction irradiated under visible light illumination through the production of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals on metals. The outcome indicates an important step forward one-pot facile approach to prepare noble ultrathin photocatalyst for hydrogen production from water.