Premium
A Monolithically Integrated Gallium Nitride Nanowire/Silicon Solar Cell Photocathode for Selective Carbon Dioxide Reduction to Methane
Author(s) -
Wang Yichen,
Fan Shizhao,
AlOtaibi Bandar,
Wang Yongjie,
Li Lu,
Mi Zetian
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201601642
Subject(s) - photocathode , materials science , optoelectronics , nanowire , solar cell , gallium nitride , silicon dioxide , silicon , electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide , nanotechnology , catalysis , chemistry , carbon monoxide , physics , layer (electronics) , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , electron , biochemistry
A gallium nitride nanowire/silicon solar cell photocathode for the photoreduction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is demonstrated. Such a monolithically integrated nanowire/solar cell photocathode offers several unique advantages, including the absorption of a large part of the solar spectrum and highly efficient carrier extraction. With the incorporation of copper as the co‐catalyst, the devices exhibit a Faradaic efficiency of about 19 % for the 8e − photoreduction to CH 4 at −1.4 V vs Ag/AgCl, a value that is more than thirty times higher than that for the 2e − reduced CO (ca. 0.6 %).