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Photoelectrochemical properties of n-type KTaO3 single crystals in alkaline electrolytes

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Abstract

Semiconducting KTaO3 single crystals were investigated as a model potential photoanode for hydrogen production using photoelectrochemical cells. To modify the electronic properties of KTaO3 by reducing the band gap and thereby increasing the absorption of light at longer wavelengths, the crystals were doped during growth. A wide range of dopant elements was used that consisted primarily of transition metal atoms. Most of the crystals exhibited n-type behavior with carrier concentrations from 4 × 1018 to 2.6 × 1020 cm–3. The position of the band edges indicated that the crystals were thermodynamically capable of water dissociation. External quantum yield measurements revealed that the samples were photoactive up to a wavelength of ~350 nm. The indirect band gap and a parameter denoted as E1 that is related to the direct band edge of the semiconductor, were found to be essentially the same for all of the samples. These results indicate that the various dopants and treatments did not produce changes in the KTaO3 electronic structure that were sufficient to significantly modify the behavior of KTaO3 in a PEC cell.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA

    Irene E. Paulauskas & Lynn A. Boatner

  2. Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6197, USA

    Gerald E. Jellison

  3. Center for Radiation Detection Materials and Systems, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6056, USA

    Lynn A. Boatner

Authors
  1. Irene E. Paulauskas
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  2. Gerald E. Jellison
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  3. Lynn A. Boatner
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Correspondence to Gerald E. Jellison.

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Paulauskas, I.E., Jellison, G.E. & Boatner, L.A. Photoelectrochemical properties of n-type KTaO3 single crystals in alkaline electrolytes. Journal of Materials Research 25, 52–62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2010.0001

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