Abstract
If a semiconductor is brought in contact with an electrolyte, several processes will occur and the composition of the two phases next to the contact will finally be more or less different from the bulk. Such processes are adsorption or chemisorption of components of the electrolyte at the semiconductor surface, formation of new chemical compounds between the constituents of the semiconductor and particular components of the electrolyte in a thin interfacial layer and the formation of an electric double layer by a separation of charge with opposite sign at the interface. The latter occurs due to different electron and ion affinities of these two phases. A crucial part of the photoelectrochemical reactions, which occur under illumination at such a contact and can be used for the conversion of light energy into other forms of free energy, depends on the properties of this interface. The basic concepts needed for the understanding of such contacts will be outlined in this lecture.
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Gerischer, H. (1985). Semiconductor Electrodes and Their Interaction with Light. In: Schiavello, M. (eds) Photoelectrochemistry, Photocatalysis and Photoreactors. NATO ASI Series, vol 146. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7725-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7725-0_2
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