Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Solutions Using Cu2O Coated with Earth‐Abundant Hydrogen Evolution Catalysts

The splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules using sunlight is an attractive method for solar energy storage. Until now, photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution is mostly studied in acidic solutions, in which the hydrogen evolution is more facile than in alkaline solutions. Herein, we report photoelectrochemical hydrogen production in alkaline solutions, which are more favorable than acidic solutions for the complementary oxygen evolution half‐reaction. We show for the first time that amorphous molybdenum sulfide is a highly active hydrogen evolution catalyst in basic medium. The amorphous molybdenum sulfide catalyst and a Ni–Mo catalyst are then deposited on surface‐protected cuprous oxide photocathodes to catalyze sunlight‐driven hydrogen production in 1 M KOH. The photocathodes give photocurrents of ?6.3 mA cm^?2 at the reversible hydrogen evolution potential, the highest yet reported for a metal oxide photocathode using an earth‐abundant hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst.     

外延p-Si中的高-低结对光电化学转换效率的影响

本文采用p⁺/p-Si作为光阴极进行了光电化学电池和光助析氢电池的研究,光转换效率分别达到了7.4%(V^2+/3+电对)和7.8%(Co—W修饰),并讨论了导致高效率的原因,强调了高-低结对于改善半导体光电极性能的重要性。     

High-performance bulk heterojunction-based photocathode with facile architecture for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Organic semiconductors are promising candidates as photoactive layers for photoelectrodes used in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells due to their excellent light absorption and efficient charge transport properties with the help of interfacial materials. However, the use of multilayers will make the charge transfer mechanism more complicated and decrease the PEC performance of the photoelectrode caused by the increased contact resistance. In this work, a PM6:Y6 bulk heterojunction (BHJ)-based photocathode is fabricated for efficient PEC hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in an acidic aqueous solution. With RuO₂ as an interfacial modification layer, the photocathode with a simple structure (fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/PM6:Y6/RuO₂) generates a maximum photocurrent density up to ?15 mA/cm² at 0 V vs. reference hydrogen electrode (RHE), outperforming all previously reported BHJ-based photocathodes in terms of PEC performance. The highest ratiometric power-saved efficiency of 3.7% is achieved at 0.4 V vs. RHE.     

Organic Photocathode Supported by Copper Nanosheets Array for Overall Water Splitting

The Z-scheme overall solar water splitting is a mimic of natural photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy. Since the energy levels of most organic semiconductors match well with the hydrogen evolution potential, they have great application prospects as photocathodes in Z-scheme photoelectrochemical systems. However, due to the weak light absorption and difficult carrier separation, the photocurrent density and onset potential of organic photocathodes are still low. To solve these problems, we introduced a copper nanosheets array (Cu NSA) framework under organic layers to increase the surface reaction sites, improve the light absorption and enhance the distribution range of built-in electric field simultaneously. As a result, the photocurrent density and onset potential of poly(3-hexylthiophene) : [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid (P3HT : PCBM) photocathode were enhanced significantly. The onset potential increased by 50 mV to 0.65 V vs. RHE, and the photocurrent density reached −1 mA cm⁻² at 0 V vs. RHE, which was 18 times that of the sample without Cu NSA. The optimized photocathode was connected with titanium dioxide nanorods array photoanode in a tandem manner to realize the spontaneous overall water splitting. Without bias and co-catalyst, the photocurrent density was maintained at 110 μA cm⁻² and the solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency was 0.14 % in neutral solution. These results provide a feasible method for optimizing the performance of organic photocathodes.     

Surfactant-free, large-scale, solution-liquid-solid growth of gallium phosphide nanowires and their use for visible-light-driven hydrogen production from water reduction

Colloidal GaP nanowires (NWs) were synthesized on a large scale by a surfactant-free, self-seeded solution-liquid-solid (SLS) method using triethylgallium and tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine as precursors and a noncoordinating squalane solvent. Ga nanoscale droplets were generated in situ by thermal decomposition of the Ga precursor and subsequently promoted the NW growth. The GaP NWs were not intentionally doped and showed a positive open-circuit photovoltage based on photoelectrochemical measurements. Purified GaP NWs were used for visible-light-driven water splitting. Upon photodeposition of Pt nanoparticles on the wire surfaces, significantly enhanced hydrogen production was observed. The results indicate that colloidal surfactant-free GaP NWs combined with potent surface electrocatalysts could serve as promising photocathodes for artificial photosynthesis.     

非晶TiO2修饰CuBi2O4光阴极增强其光电化学产氢活性

光催化作为太阳能利用领域的研究热点引起了广泛的关注.其中,光电化学技术能够通过分解水提供清洁的氢能源,因此被认为是一种潜在的新能源制造方式.在光电化学分解水产氢的过程中,最重要的是高效光电极的制备.一系列n型半导体材料已被广泛地报道并用作光阳极,如BiVO4,ZnO,Fe2O3等.然而对于光阴极材料,其可选择性则较少.CuBi2O4是一种天然矿物,具有廉价易得以及化学性质稳定的特性,而且是一种p型半导体材料,因此能够用于制备光阴极;另外因为其强的可见光响应(1.70 eV),所以具有广泛的应用前景.目前对于CuBi2O4光阴极研究主要集中在合成和理论计算方面,而对于如何促进界面处的载流子分离研究较少.本文通过一种简单的电沉积方法成功制备出CuBi2O4光阴极,然后利用非晶TiO2和助催化剂Pt进行修饰后将其用于光电化学产氢.由于形成了CuBi2O4/TiO2 p-n结,因此其光阴极活性得到增强.新的Pt/TiO2/CuBi2O4光阴极在0.60 V偏压处的光电流为0.35 mA/cm2,其数值约为Pt/CuBi2O4光阴极的两倍.XRD结果表明,我们制备的CuBi2O4为纯相且结晶性较好,其表面修饰的TiO2为非晶相的.SEM结果表明,CuBi2O4电极层由100-150 nm的颗粒构成.紫外-可见吸收光谱表明,制备的CuBi2O4光电极拥有良好的可见光吸收性质,而且TiO2修饰未对CuBi2O4的光吸收产生明显的影响.XPS结果表明,修饰TiO2并未对CuBi2O4电极造成成分上的破坏.光电化学测试表明,修饰TiO2层厚度和结晶性会影响光电极的最终活性.修饰四层TiO2和退火200 oC的样品具有最好的活性.另外稳定性测试也表明,修饰非晶TiO2的CuBi2O4光阴极具有良好的稳定性.在IPCE测试中,Pt/TiO2/CuBi2O4光阴极在其光响应范围内均比Pt/CuBi2O4光阴极表现出更高的效率.阻抗结果测试中Pt/TiO2/CuBi2O4光阴极具有更小的阻抗,这表明其载流子传输更加高效.在Mott-Shetty测试中,Pt/TiO2/CuBi2O4和Pt/CuBi2O4光阴极都表现出p型半导体性质,但是Pt/TiO2/CuBi2O4具有更负的平带电位,这表明修饰的TiO2仍具有n型半导体材料的特性,并与p型的CuBi2O4形成p-n结,从而促进了载流子分离效率.     

FeFe]-hydrogenase-catalyzed H2 production in a photoelectrochemical biofuel cell

The Clostridium acetobutylicum [FeFe]-hydrogenase HydA has been investigated as a hydrogen production catalyst in a photoelectrochemical biofuel cell. Hydrogenase was adsorbed to pyrolytic graphite edge and carbon felt electrodes. Cyclic voltammograms of the immobilized hydrogenase films reveal cathodic proton reduction and anodic hydrogen oxidation, with a catalytic bias toward hydrogen evolution. When corrected for the electrochemically active surface area, the cathodic current densities are similar for both carbon electrodes, and approximately 40% of those obtained with a platinum electrode. The high surface area carbon felt/hydrogenase electrode was subsequently used as the cathode in a photoelectrochemical biofuel cell. Under illumination, this device is able to oxidize a biofuel substrate and reduce protons to hydrogen. Similar photocurrents and hydrogen production rates were observed in the photoelectrochemical biofuel cell using either hydrogenase or platinum cathodes.     

光电化学分解水电池的电极性能提高方法及光阴极研究进展

光电化学水分解电池能够将太阳能直接转化为氢能,是一种理想的太阳能利用方式. p-n叠层电池具有理论转换效率高、成本低廉、材料选择灵活等优势,被认为是最有潜力的一类光电化学水分解电池. 然而,目前这类叠层电池的太阳能转化效率还不高,主要原因是单个电极的效率太低. 本文介绍了几种提高光电极分解水性能的方法--减小光生载流子的体相复合、表面复合以及抑制背反应等,同时综述了国内外关于几种p型半导体光阴极的研究进展,如Si、InP、CuIn_1-x GaxS(Se)₂、Cu₂ZnSnS₄等. 通过总结,作者提出一种p-Cu₂ZnSnS₄(CuIn_1-xGaxS(Se)₂)/n-Ta₃N₅(Fe₂O₃) 组装方式,有望获得高效低成本叠层光电化学水分解电池.     

Photoelectroreduction of Building-Block Chemicals

Conventional photoelectrochemical cells utilize solar energy to drive the chemical conversion of water or CO₂ into useful chemical fuels. Such processes are confronted with general challenges, including the low intrinsic activities and inconvenient storage and transportation of their gaseous products. A photoelectrochemical approach is proposed to drive the reductive production of industrial building-block chemicals and demonstrate that succinic acid and glyoxylic acid can be readily synthesized on Si nanowire array photocathodes free of any cocatalyst and at room temperature. These photocathodes exhibit a positive onset potential, large saturation photocurrent density, high reaction selectivity, and excellent operation durability. They capitalize on the large photovoltage generated from the semiconductor/electrolyte junction to partially offset the required external bias, and thereby make this photoelectrosynthetic approach significantly more sustainable compared to traditional electrosynthesis.     

Surface Engineering of Carbon Nitride Electrode by Molecular Cobalt Species and Their Photoelectrochemical Application

Graphitic carbon nitride (CN) has been widely regarded as a promising photocatalyst since the discovery of its capability for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Herein, we developed a functional CN film on a conductive fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode by using a microprinting‐based direct growth method. Furthermore, the photoelectrochemical performance of the derived CN@FTO film was demonstrated to be enhanced by incorporating molecular cobalt species. The reduced charge transport resistance in the cobalt‐modified CN@FTO films is suggested to accelerate the charge‐carrier transfer rate and thus to improve the performance in photoelectrochemical application. The approach is versatile and can be further optimized by selecting a proper “ink” solution and modifier on various conductive substrates.     

Photoelectroreduction of Building‐Block Chemicals

Conventional photoelectrochemical cells utilize solar energy to drive the chemical conversion of water or CO₂ into useful chemical fuels. Such processes are confronted with general challenges, including the low intrinsic activities and inconvenient storage and transportation of their gaseous products. A photoelectrochemical approach is proposed to drive the reductive production of industrial building‐block chemicals and demonstrate that succinic acid and glyoxylic acid can be readily synthesized on Si nanowire array photocathodes free of any cocatalyst and at room temperature. These photocathodes exhibit a positive onset potential, large saturation photocurrent density, high reaction selectivity, and excellent operation durability. They capitalize on the large photovoltage generated from the semiconductor/electrolyte junction to partially offset the required external bias, and thereby make this photoelectrosynthetic approach significantly more sustainable compared to traditional electrosynthesis.     

Direct Synthesis of Anatase Films with ~100% (001) Facets and [001] Preferred Orientation

Anatase films exhibiting ~100% (001) reactive facets at the surface were grown hydrothermally on gold substrate from a homogeneous solution of TiF(4) and NaF. In addition to NaF, it was found that TiO(2) films with very similar properties could be prepared with the fluoride salts LiF, CsF, HF, NH(4)F, and N(CH(2)CH(3))(4)F. The polycrystalline anatase films are continuous, approximately 1 μm thick, and evenly coat the substrate. The surface grain size is ~400 nm. Grazing angle XRD measurements show that the films exhibit a high degree of preferred orientation with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface. SEM images reveal that the grains span the thickness of the films. Annealing the films at 500 °C removes fluorine and causes crystallites within the grains to restructure as shown by SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. Supported anatase films grown from this one-pot method may serve as oxidative photocatalysts and electrodes for photoelectrochemical applications such as solar cells and hydrogen evolution.     

CdS Reinforced with CoSX/NiCo-LDH Core-shell Co-catalyst Demonstrate High Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Durability in Anhydrous Ethanol

At present, inefficient charge separation of single photocatalyst impedes the development of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. In this work, the CoS_X/NiCo-LDH core-shell co-catalyst was cleverly designed, which exhibit high activity and high stability of hydrogen evolution in anhydrous ethanol system when coupled with CdS. Under visible light (λ≥420 nm) irradiation, the 3 %Co/NiCo/CdS composite photocatalyst exhibits a surprisingly high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 20.67 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is 59 times than that of the original CdS. Continuous light for 20 h still showed good cycle stability. In addition, the 3 %Co/NiCo/CdS composite catalyst also shows good hydrogen evolution performance under the Na₂S/Na₂SO₃ and lactic acid system. The fluorescence (PL), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance (UV-vis) and photoelectrochemical tests show that the coupling of CdS and CoS_X/NiCo-LDH not only accelerates the effective transfer of charges, but also greatly increases the absorption range of CdS to visible light. Therefore, the hydrogen evolution activity of the composite photocatalyst has been significantly improved. This work will provide new insights for the construction of new co-catalysts and the development of composite catalysts for hydrogen evolution in multiple systems.     

Covalently Grafting Graphene onto Si Photocathode to Expedite Aqueous Photoelectrochemical CO2 Reduction

Silicon semiconductor functionalized with molecular catalysts emerges as a promising cathode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR). However, the limited kinetics and stabilities remains a major hurdle for the development of such composites. We herein report an assembling strategy of silicon photocathodes via chemically grafting a conductive graphene layer onto the surface of n⁺-p Si followed by catalyst immobilization. The covalently-linked graphene layer effectively enhances the photogenerated carriers transfer between the cathode and the reduction catalyst, and improves the operating stability of the electrode. Strikingly, we demonstrate that altering the stacking configuration of the immobilized cobalt tetraphenylporphyrin (CoTPP) catalyst through calcination can further enhance the electron transfer rate and the PEC performance. At the end, the graphene-coated Si cathode immobilized with CoTPP catalyst managed to sustain a stable 1-Sun photocurrent of −1.65 mA cm⁻² over 16 h for CO production in water at a near neutral potential of −0.1 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. This represents a remarkable improvement of PEC CO₂RR performance in contrast to the reported photocathodes functionalized with molecular catalysts.     

Strain tuned efficient heterostructure photoelectrodes

van der Waals（vd Ws） heterostructures based on two-dimensional（2D） materials have become a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical（PEC） catalyst not only because of the freedom in materials design that enable the band-offset construction and facilitate the charge separation. They also provide a platform for the study of various of interface effect in PEC. Here, we report a new kind of mixed-dimensional vd Ws heterostructure photoelectrode and investigate the strain enhanced PEC performance ...     

Electrodeposited Cu thin layers as low cost and effective underlayers for Cu2O photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water electrolysis

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Cu2O is one of the most studied semiconductors for photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC-WS). Its low stability is counterbalanced by...     

LiNbO_3不同晶面的光催化产氢性能

研究了LiNbO3(001)、(100)和(110)晶面的光催化产氢性能。(001)、(100)和(110)3个晶面光催化产氢性能之比为7.8∶1.3∶1.0。LiNbO3[001]晶向存在电偶极矩和自发极化,有利于增加光生电子和空穴的分离效率,减少光生电子和空穴的复合,提高LiNbO3(001)面的光催化活性。LiNbO3(001)面的空穴有效质量最小,有利于光生空穴的迁移,从而减少光生电子和空穴的复合,也有利于光催化性能的提高。     

LiNbO3不同晶面的光催化产氢性能

研究了LiNbO₃（001）、（100）和（110）晶面的光催化产氢性能。（001）、（100）和（110）3个晶面光催化产氢性能之比为7.8：1.3：1.0。LiNbO₃[001]晶向存在电偶极矩和自发极化,有利于增加光生电子和空穴的分离效率,减少光生电子和空穴的复合,提高LiNbO₃（001）面的光催化活性。LiNbO₃（001）面的空穴有效质量最小,有利于光生空穴的迁移,从而减少光生电子和空穴的复合,也有利于光催化性能的提高。     

Elucidation of activity of copper and copper oxide nanomaterials for electrocatalytic and photoelectrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

Copper- and copper oxide–based materials are, in principle, promising components (supports, reactive sites, and visible light–absorbing semiconductors) of electrocatalysts and photocathodes for reduction of carbon dioxide. Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical approaches are generally suitable for the low-temperature CO₂-conversion to carbon-based simple organic fuels or utility chemicals.Different concepts of utilization, including nanostructuring, doping, admixing, preconditioning, modification, or functionalization of various copper- and copper oxide–based systems for catalytic electroreduction and photoelectrochemical reduction of CO₂ are elucidated, as well as important strategies to enhance the systems' overall activity and stability are discussed.     

Mixed-phase WO3 Cocatalysts on Hierarchical Si-based Photocathode for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Li Extraction

Photoelectrochemical lithium (Li) extraction can be expected to provide a useful recycle of Li⁺ from waste Li-containing battery, but the process is limited by the photocathodes with poor Li⁺ absorption and low yield rate. Here, we have designed a hierarchical silicon (Si)-based photocathode with mixed-phase tungsten oxide (WO₃) cocatalysts for photoelectrochemical Li extraction under 1 sun illumination, achieving a high Li yield rate of ≈223.0 μg cm⁻² h⁻¹ and an excellent faradaic efficiency of 91.9 % at 0.0817 V versus Li^0/+ redox couple. The WO₃ cocatalysts with the mixture of amorphous and crystalline phase accelerates the Li⁺ insertion and precipitation and enriches the concentration of Li⁺ at the photocathode surface. This robust photoelectrochemical Li extraction system provides a new insight on designing green and efficient route for cyclic utilization of Li resources in the sustainable energy field.