Earth-Abundant Materials for Solar Water Splitting
David Tilley a
a Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Zurich, CH-8057
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV18)
Benidorm, Spain, 2018 May 28th - 31st
Organizers: Emilio Palomares and Rene Janssen
Invited Speaker Session, David Tilley, presentation 200
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.hopv.2018.200
Publication date: 21st February 2018

Although photocathodes that are based on Si, GaInP2, GaP and copper indium gallium sulphide/selenide (CIGS) exhibit high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiencies, they either contain rare elements or require high cost processing techniques. In order to compete with crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic-coupled electrolysis for widespread solar hydrogen generation, new materials are required that are simultaneously high efficiency, Earth-abundant, and stable in an aqueous electrolyte, while being fabricated at low cost.

In this presentation, I will discuss our work with highly active photocathodes based on Sb2Se3 that feature abundant MoSx catalyst. Photocurrents up to ~16 mA cm-2 have been obtained at 0 V vs RHE in 1 M H2SO4 under simulated one sun AM 1.5 G irradiation. These photocathodes show high incident photon to current conversion efficiencies over the entire visible spectrum, and until the band edge of Sb2Se3 (1.2 eV). The small decrease in photocurrent density with time (20 h) was found to result from degradation of the amorphous catalyst, while the Sb2Se3 absorber resisted photocorrosion in the strongly acidic media. The simple and low cost fabrication method–combined with the high performance and stability of the photocathode–makes Sb2Se3/MoSx a strong candidate for large scale solar hydrogen production. Additionally, some other materials will be discussed, such as CuO and Cu2O-based photocathodes.

© FUNDACIO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA SCITO
We use our own and third party cookies for analysing and measuring usage of our website to improve our services. If you continue browsing, we consider accepting its use. You can check our Cookies Policy in which you will also find how to configure your web browser for the use of cookies. More info