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Enhancing the Performance of Amorphous‐Silicon Photoanodes for Photoelectrocatalytic Water Oxidation
Author(s) -
Qin Wei,
Wang Nan,
Yao Tingting,
Wang Shubo,
Wang Hui,
Cao Yuexian,
Liu Shengzhong Frank,
Li Can
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201501004
Subject(s) - amorphous solid , amorphous silicon , materials science , layer (electronics) , water splitting , chemical engineering , electrolyte , oxygen evolution , silicon , thin film , oxygen , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , catalysis , chemistry , electrochemistry , electrode , crystalline silicon , photocatalysis , biochemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Herein, hydrogenated amorphous Si (a‐Si:H) covered with a thin layer of CoO x is applied as photoanode for PEC water splitting. The thin layer of CoO x effectively protects a‐Si:H from the corrosive electrolyte and quantitative oxidation of water to oxygen was observed. A high applied bias photon‐to‐current efficiency of 2.34 % was achieved using an intrinsic absorber and an additional p‐type layer. This work shows that a‐Si:H with a sandwich‐like structure, in which each layer has its own functionality, can be applied as an efficient and stable photoanode for PEC water oxidation.