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Dependence of interface energetics and kinetics on catalyst loading in a photoelectrochemical system

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Abstract

Solar hydrogen production by the photoelectrochemical method promises a means to store solar energy. While it is generally understood that the process is highly sensitive to the nature of the interface between the semiconductor and the electrolyte, a detailed understanding of this interface is still missing. For instance, few prior studies have established a clear relationship between the interface energetics and the catalyst loading amount. Here we aim to study this relationship on a prototypical Si-based photoelectrochemical system. Two types of interfaces were examined, one with GaN nanowires as a protection layer and one without. It was found that when GaN was present, higher Pt loading (> 0.1 μg/cm2) led to not only better water reduction (and, hence, hydrogen evolution) kinetics but also more favorable interface energetics for greater photovoltages. In the absence of the protection layer, by stark contrast, increased Pt loading exhibited no measurable influence on the interface energetics, and the main difference was observed only in the hydrogen evolution kinetics. The study sheds new light on the importance of interface engineering for further improvement of photoelectrochemical systems, especially concerning the role of catalysts and protection layers.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge research support from the HydroGEN Advanced Water Splitting Materials Consortium, established as part of the Energy Materials Network under the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Office, under Award Number DE-EE0008086 XPS and TEM was performed at the Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS) in Harvard University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Merkert Chemistry Center, Boston College, 2609 Beacon Street, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA

    Yumin He, Tianyue Gao, Da He, Jeremy Espano, Yanyan Zhao, Qi Dong, Chaochao Lang & Dunwei Wang

  2. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, 1301 Beal Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    Srinivas Vanka, Yongjie Wang & Zetian Mi

  3. Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA

    Thomas W. Hamann

  4. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 0E9, Canada

    Srinivas Vanka

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  1. Yumin He
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Correspondence to Dunwei Wang.

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He, Y., Vanka, S., Gao, T. et al. Dependence of interface energetics and kinetics on catalyst loading in a photoelectrochemical system. Nano Res. 12, 2378–2384 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-019-2346-3

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