Issue 1, 2020

Quasi-hydrophilic black silicon photocathodes with inverted pyramid arrays for enhanced hydrogen generation

Abstract

Micro-/nanostructured silicon (Si) photoelectrodes are promising for efficient solar-driven water splitting. In this work, an elaborate study on textured Si photocathodes is reported. Compared to conventional textured Si photocathodes, the well-designed Si photocathode with randomly-distributed inverted pyramid arrays (SiIPs) generates a larger photovoltage of 440 mV for its higher effective minority carrier density, and produces a higher photocurrent density at a high reverse bias voltage due to its quasi-hydrophilicity. With the help of cobalt disulfide (CoS2) nanocrystals, sluggish charge kinetics of SiIP photocathodes can be further improved. The optimal SiIP/CoS2 photocathode yields an onset potential of 0.22 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a saturated photocurrent density of 10.4 mA cm−2 at −0.45 V (vs. RHE). Besides, this cathode produces a stable photocurrent density of ∼6.60 mA cm−2 at 0 V (vs. RHE) for 12 000 s in acidic media. Notably, our work presents a facile and inexpensive method to fabricate efficient Si photoelectrodes, which may promote the evolution of textured Si-based electrodes for potential photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic applications.

Graphical abstract: Quasi-hydrophilic black silicon photocathodes with inverted pyramid arrays for enhanced hydrogen generation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Aug 2019
Accepted
15 Nov 2019
First published
16 Nov 2019

Nanoscale, 2020,12, 316-325

Quasi-hydrophilic black silicon photocathodes with inverted pyramid arrays for enhanced hydrogen generation

S. Zhao, G. Yuan, Q. Wang, W. Liu, R. Wang and S. Yang, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 316 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR06635G

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