Nanocrystalline Boron-Doped Diamond as a Corrosion-Resistant Anode for Water Oxidation via Si Photoelectrodes
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2018-08-07 |
| Journal | ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces |
| Authors | Petr Ashcheulov, Andrew Taylor, V. Mortet, A. Poruba, Florian Le Formal |
| Institutions | Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics, Ćcole Polytechnique FĆ©dĆ©rale de Lausanne |
| Citations | 32 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāDue to its high sensitivity to corrosion, the use of Si in direct photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting systems that convert solar energy into chemical fuels has been greatly limited. Therefore, the development of low-cost materials resistant to corrosion under oxidizing conditions is an important goal toward a suitable protection of otherwise unstable semiconductors used in PEC cells. Here, we report on the development of a protective coating based on thin and electrically conductive nanocrystalline boron-doped diamond (BDD) layers. We found that BDD layers protect the underlying Si photoelectrodes over a wide pH range (1-14) in aqueous electrolyte solutions. A BDD layer maintains an efficient charge carrier transfer from the underlying silicon to the electrolyte solution. Si|BDD photoelectrodes show no sign of performance degradation after a continuous PEC treatment in neutral, acidic, and basic electrolytes. The deposition of a cobalt phosphate (CoPi) oxygen evolution catalyst onto the BDD layer significantly reduces the overpotential for water oxidation, demonstrating the ability of BDD layers to substitute the transparent conductive oxide coatings, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), frequently used as protective layers in Si photoelectrodes.
Tech Support
Section titled āTech SupportāOriginal Source
Section titled āOriginal SourceāReferences
Section titled āReferencesā- 2013 - Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Materials, Processes and Architectures [Crossref]