Hetero-type dual photoanodes for unbiased solar water splitting with extended light harvesting.

ABSTRACT: Metal oxide semiconductors are promising photoelectrode materials for solar water splitting due to their robustness in aqueous solutions and low cost. Yet, their solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiencies are still not high enough for practical applications. Here we present a strategy to enhance the efficiency of metal oxides, hetero-type dual photoelectrodes, in which two photoanodes of different bandgaps are connected in parallel for extended light harvesting. Thus, a photoelectrochemical device made of modified BiVO₄ and α-Fe₂O₃ as dual photoanodes utilizes visible light up to 610 nm for water splitting, and shows stable photocurrents of 7.0±0.2 mA cm^-2 at 1.23 V_RHE under 1 sun irradiation. A tandem cell composed with the dual photoanodes-silicon solar cell demonstrates unbiased water splitting efficiency of 7.7%. These results and concept represent a significant step forward en route to the goal of >10% efficiency required for practical solar hydrogen production.

SUBMITTER: Kim JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5477502 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature