Issue 39, 2020

Light and electric field induced unusual large-scale charge separation in hybrid semiconductor objects

Abstract

Separation of electric charges is the most crucial phenomenon in natural photosynthesis, and is also extremely important for many artificial energy conversion systems based on semiconductors. The usual roadblock in this context is the fast recombination of electrons and holes. Here we demonstrate that the synergy of light and electric fields allows separating very efficiently electric charges over an unusually large distance in TiO2. The generated internal electric field can also be used to shuttle electrons simultaneously to the two opposite sides of a hybrid TiO2–polyaniline object. This counterintuitive behavior is based on the combination of the principles of bipolar electrochemistry and semi-conductor physics.

Graphical abstract: Light and electric field induced unusual large-scale charge separation in hybrid semiconductor objects

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
17 6 2020
Accepted
28 7 2020
First published
28 7 2020

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020,22, 22180-22184

Light and electric field induced unusual large-scale charge separation in hybrid semiconductor objects

A. A. Melvin, E. Lebraud, P. Garrigue and A. Kuhn, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2020, 22, 22180 DOI: 10.1039/D0CP03262J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements