Review
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Runfa Tan, Arumugam Sivanantham, Balasubramanian Jansi Rani, Yoo Jae Jeong, In Sun Cho
Summary: Key parameters for efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water splitting are discussed, including light absorption, charge transport, surface reaction, and photocorrosion. Surface properties of the photoelectrode play a crucial role in water oxidation and reduction reactions, influencing charge dynamics, stability, and light-harvesting properties. Various surface regulation strategies have been explored, including tuning morphologies, defects, and depositing passivation layers and cocatalysts. Emerging strategies such as depositing unique surface-modification layers and utilizing post-etching/activating surface chemical composition are highlighted.
COORDINATION CHEMISTRY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Tea-Yon Kim, Byung Su Kim, Jong Gyu Oh, Seul Chan Park, Jaeyoung Jang, Thomas W. Hamann, Young Soo Kang, Jin Ho Bang, Sixto Gimenez, Yong Soo Kang
Summary: By applying a TiO2(B) surface passivation layer (SPL) on TiO2/QD (PbS and CdS), electron conductivity was improved, collection efficiency was increased, and a record high photocurrent density was achieved, suggesting a promising strategy for the development of high-performance photoelectrochemical devices.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jiaru Li, Jiayu Bai, Songjie Hu, Wenyu Yuan, Yuyu Bu, Xiaohui Guo
Summary: This study develops a novel composite photocathode for enhancing the stability and solar water splitting performance of photoelectrochemical devices. The optimized interface energy barrier and carrier transfer properties contribute to the enhanced water splitting performance. These findings provide a feasible strategy for improving the stability and photon quantum efficiency of silicon-based photocathode devices.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shi Fang, Danhao Wang, Xiaoning Wang, Xin Liu, Yang Kang, Huabin Yu, Haochen Zhang, Wei Hu, Jr-Hau He, Haiding Sun, Shibing Long
Summary: This study investigated a PEC-type ultraviolet photodetector constructed from GaN p-n junction nanowires, revealing that surface platinum decoration successfully enhanced charge transfer efficiency, resulting in a twenty-fold increase in photocurrent compared to pristine nanowires. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that the newly formed electronic states at the Pt/GaN interface and optimal hydrogen adsorption energy contributed to the high photoresponse.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hyo-Jin Ahn, Stepan Kment, Alberto Naldoni, Radek Zboril, Patrik Schmuki
Summary: In this article, a simple ex situ Sn-doping method on hematite nanoflakes (coded as MSnO2-H) is reported, which can protect the nanoflake morphology against high-temperature annealing and activate the photoresponse of hematite up to 800 nm wavelength. SnO2 nanoparticles synthesized on hematite nanoflakes effectively prevent shape deformation and enable heavy Sn ion doping. Moreover, SnO2 nanoparticles act as a passivation layer, reducing the onset potential of hematite for water splitting reactions.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Chengyu Ji, Jiamin Xu, Qianfan Jiang, Gwilherm Kerherve, Haochen Zhou, Xiaoru Li, Sixing Tang, Pankaj Sharma, D. Jason Riley, Fang Xie
Summary: Hematite is a promising catalyst for photoelectrochemical water splitting due to its stability, abundance, and low cost. However, the slow water oxidation kinetics and poor charge transportation have limited its practical application. To address these issues, a three-component heterojunction photoelectrode was designed by incorporating a visible light responsive metal-organic framework (MOF) and optimized plasmonic Ag nanorods into hematite nanostructures. The incorporation of MOF and Ag nanorods resulted in improved light harvesting and enhanced charge transport, leading to superior performance for hematite-based photoelectrochemical water oxidation.
MATERIALS TODAY ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hoki Son, Periyayya Uthirakumar, Tae-Hoon Chung, A. Y. Polyakov, In-Hwan Lee
Summary: The study focused on morphologically tuned nanoporous GaN photoelectrodes and the influence of halogen treatment, demonstrating a significant improvement in the efficiencies of photoelectrochemical devices, particularly in terms of applied bias photon-to-current efficiency.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sang Youn Chae, Eun Duck Park
Summary: The study reports the unexpectedly improved photoelectrochemical activity and stability of the Ta3N5 photoelectrode in acidic electrolytes. It reveals the oxidation mechanism of Ta3N5 surface as transpassivation, with suppressed surface oxidation rate under acidic pH conditions. The less formation of the passive layer at the Ta3N5 surface leads to improved photoelectrochemical activity and stability.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinshu Wang, Houyan Cheng, Yuntao Cui, Yunfei Yang, Heng He, Yongfeng Cai, Zhiliang Wang, Lianzhou Wang, Yuxiang Hu
Summary: This study reports a rapid hydrogenation method using gallium-based liquid metals to enhance fast charge separation and transfer in solar conversion processes. By embedding protons into the photoanode and utilizing the strong reduction capability of the liquid metals, the carrier concentration of the photoanode is significantly increased, resulting in improved charge separation and transfer.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yingfeng He, Zhengying Si, Yu 'ang Shi, Huiyun Wei, Mingzeng Peng, Xinhe Zheng
Summary: Gallium nitride (GaN) thin films were grown on stainless steel substrate with Al2O3 buffer using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition at low temperature (& LE;290 & DEG;C). The GaN films exhibited a polycrystalline structure with a strong (002) preferential orientation. The refractive index of the films was determined as 2.30 at 633 nm using Spectroscopic Ellipsometry. This study provides a new approach for achieving high-quality GaN on metal substrates, which is promising for future applications of GaN-based devices on metal substrates.
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jun Ke, Fan He, Hui Wu, Siliu Lyu, Jie Liu, Bin Yang, Zhongjian Li, Qinghua Zhang, Jian Chen, Lecheng Lei, Yang Hou, Kostya Ostrikov
Summary: This study critically examines various 2D layered photoelectrode materials, discusses the correlations between the intrinsic structural properties and functions of the photoelectrodes, and analyzes strategies for assembling integrated photoelectrodes using advanced nanocarbons as co-catalysts to enhance PEC water splitting performances.
NANO-MICRO LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sameerah I. Al-Saeedi
Summary: This study compares the effects of different nanostructured ZnO photoelectrodes on structural, optical, and PEC hydrogen production efficiency, as well as electrode stability. The results show that hexagonal nanorod array morphology offers low-cost, high-quality PEC performance and durability.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Danli Hu, Haiyan Cui, Xinyang Wang, Fang Luo, Bin Qiu, Weicheng Cai, Hui Huang, Jian Wang, Zhenyu Lin
Summary: An innovative photo-electrochemical aptasensor based on Au/GaN photoelectrode has been developed for cancer biomarker detection. The sensor combines the characteristics of Au promoting charge transfer and aptamer high selectivity, showing high sensitivity and selectivity in detecting AFP concentration ranging from 1.0-150 ng/mL.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ryun Na Kim, Do Hyung Han, Hye Won Yun, Jinho Lee, Sang Ouk Ryu, Woo-Byoung Kim
Summary: By utilizing nitric acid oxidation of Si to form a high-density SiO2 layer, the lattice mismatch at the TiO2/Si interface is reduced, resulting in an improved photocurrent density.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Jiarui Gong, Zheyang Zheng, Daniel Vincent, Jie Zhou, Jisoo Kim, Donghyeok Kim, Tien Khee Ng, Boon S. S. Ooi, Kevin J. J. Chen, Zhenqiang Ma
Summary: Ultrathin oxides and ultrathin nitrides play a crucial role in lattice-mismatched semiconductor heterostructures formed by semiconducting grafting approach. Available by atomic layer deposition, these dielectrics satisfy the surface passivation and quantum tunneling requirements for semiconductor grafting. Understanding the band parameters between ultrathin oxides or nitrides and GaN can guide the selection of interfacial dielectrics for grafted GaN-based devices.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2022)
