Issue 23, 2017

Conductive layer protected and oxide catalyst-coated thin-film silicon solar cell as an efficient photoanode

Abstract

Photovoltaic–photoelectrochemical (PV-PEC) water splitting based on silicon (Si) is very promising because of its broad visible light absorption, earth abundance and high carrier mobility. However, its practical application is hindered by its poor performance in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and poor stability in electrolytes. Here, we introduced a conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) protective layer for superior interface charge transfer and developed a synergistic strategy by combining the protective layer with a NiOx catalyst layer for favorable kinetic overpotential. Thus, we delivered a photocurrent density as high as 7.64 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus RHE on the double junction microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si : H) solar cell PEC device in 1 M NaOH electrolyte. This current density is 37 times higher than that of the device with only NiOx under the same conditions. The μc-Si : H solar cell with ITO and NiOx layers has a maximum efficiency of 2% at an applied bias of 0.85 V vs. RHE. Our work will open up new opportunities for designing and preparing high-performance and non-noble PEC water splitting devices.

Graphical abstract: Conductive layer protected and oxide catalyst-coated thin-film silicon solar cell as an efficient photoanode

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Sep 2017
Accepted
30 Sep 2017
First published
02 Oct 2017

Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017,7, 5608-5613

Conductive layer protected and oxide catalyst-coated thin-film silicon solar cell as an efficient photoanode

N. Wang, M. Liu, J. Liang, T. Li, H. Tan, B. Liu, Q. Zhang, C. Wei, Y. Zhao and X. Zhang, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017, 7, 5608 DOI: 10.1039/C7CY01862B

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