Investigation of Cu-Deficient Copper Gallium Selenide Thin Film as a Photocathode for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Kim, Jae Hong; Minegishi, Tsutomu; Kobota, Jun; Domen, Kazunari

doi:10.7567/jjap.51.015802

Cited by 23 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…To the best of our knowledge, the HC-STH value for the modified CuInS 2 electrode is the highest among I-III-VI 2 chalcopyrite photocathodes. [15,19,20,[22][23][24][25] The results indicated that surface modification of p-type photocathodes with n-type layers was an effective approach to enhancing the photocurrent and onset potential of the photocathodes. Furthermore, the hydrogen production was confirmed to be highly efficient and stable under the present reaction conditions.…”

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confidence: 96%

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

et al. 2014

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Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

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“…[21][22][23] As shown in Scheme 1, for a solid solution of ZnSe and CIGS, the VBM is expected to be deeper than that for CIGS, and the absorption edge longer than that for ZnSe. In this work, we investigated the PEC properties of (ZnSe) x (CIGS) 1-x thin-film photocathodes.…”

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A Novel Photocathode Material for Sunlight‐Driven Overall Water Splitting: Solid Solution of ZnSe and Cu(In,Ga)Se₂

Kaneko

Minegishi

Nakabayashi

et al. 2016

Adv Funct Materials

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content; a similar effect has been found for other material systems. [21][22][23] As shown in Scheme 1, for a solid solution of ZnSe and CIGS, the VBM is expected to be deeper than that for CIGS, and the absorption edge longer than that for ZnSe. In this work, we investigated the PEC properties of (ZnSe) x (CIGS) 1-x thin-film photocathodes. The VBM was 0.25 V deeper than that for CIGS, and the onset potential was 0.89 V RHE , which is 0.17 V higher than that for CIGS. This higher onset potential allows PEC cells to be fabricated with a variety of photoanodes without the need for an external bias voltage. [24][25][26][27] Moreover, (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 contains much less of the rare metals indium and gallium. Therefore, (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 offers advantages over CIGS from the viewpoint of large-scale applications.Using a (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 photocathode with a BiVO 4 photoanode, [28] PEC overall water splitting without the need for an external bias voltage was demonstrated. The two-electrode cell produced stoichiometric amounts of H 2 and O 2 under simulated sunlight. The maximum STH was 0.91%, which is one of the highest values reported for a PEC cell containing a photoanode and a photocathode. [4] Results and Discussion PEC Properties of (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 PhotocathodesCurrent density versus potential curves for Pt and Pt/CdS modified (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 photocathodes are shown in Figure 1a. This composition was found to produce the largest photocurrent at 0.5 V RHE , as discussed in the next section.Whereas the photocathode modified by Pt alone showed a small cathodic photoresponse, the photocathode modified with both Pt and CdS exhibited a large photocurrent density of 6.5 mA cm −2 at 0 V RHE with a relatively high onset potential of 0.81 V RHE , which was defined as a cathodic photocurrent density of 0.05 mA cm −2 . It has been reported that an n-type CdS layer enhances the degree of charge separation by forming a p-n junction at the solid-liquid interface with the underlying p-type layer, which leads to a larger photocurrent and a higher onset potential because of the change in the band alignment. [29,30] As shown in Figure S1 (Supporting Information), the Pt/CdS/(ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 photocathode showed no decay in the photocurrent at 0.1 V RHE over a period of more than 1 h. Such stable hydrogen evolution from water is similar to that reported for photocathodes based on chalcopyrites. [30][31][32] The incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) spectrum shown in Figure 1b indicates that the absorption edge is located around 900 nm. Despite the relatively high fraction of ZnSe, whose absorption edge is about 460 nm, the absorption edge for (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 is close to that for CIGS (≈1100 nm). Thus, due to its bandgap and onset potential, (ZnSe) 0.85 (CIGS) 0.15 is the promising material for sunlightdriven hydrogen production from water.Furthermore, insertion of 3-nm-thick Mo and Ti layers between the Pt and CdS improves the photocurrent around the onset potentia...

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“…[16][17][18] For efficient PEC H 2 evolution, efficient separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes is extremely important. [15,19,20,[22][23][24][25] The results indicated that surface modification of p-type photocathodes with n-type layers was an effective approach to enhancing the photocurrent and onset potential of the photocathodes. [19][20][21] In the present work, p-type CuInS 2 photoelectrodes were prepared by a combination of electrodeposition of Cu-In metal layers and sulfurization of deposited metal precursors.…”

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Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

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Porous films of p-type CuInS 2 , prepared by sulfurization of electrodeposited metals, are surface-modified with thin layers of CdS and TiO 2 . This specific porous electrode evolved H 2 from photoelectrochemical water reduction under simulated sunlight. Modification with thin n-type CdS and TiO 2 layers significantly increased the cathodic photocurrent and onset potential through the formation of a p-n junction on the surface. The modified photocathodes showed a relatively high efficiency and stable H 2 production under the present reaction conditions.Being a clean energy carrier, hydrogen produced by solardriven water splitting has attracted much attention as a potential solution to our energy-and environment-related problems. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductor thin films as photoelectrodes is a promising and effective approach for hydrogen generation. [1][2][3][4] Since the first demonstration of TiO 2 photoelectrodes in 1972, a variety of semiconductor electrodes in different configurations have been investigated to obtain efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion. [5][6][7][8][9][10] Although many remarkable improvements have been achieved in this field, the development of active semiconductor materials for high-quality electrodes enabling efficient PEC performance remains a challenge.

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Investigation of Cu-Deficient Copper Gallium Selenide Thin Film as a Photocathode for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Cited by 23 publications

References 37 publications

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

A Novel Photocathode Material for Sunlight‐Driven Overall Water Splitting: Solid Solution of ZnSe and Cu(In,Ga)Se₂

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

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Investigation of Cu-Deficient Copper Gallium Selenide Thin Film as a Photocathode for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Cited by 23 publications

References 37 publications

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO2 on Porous CuInS2 Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO2 on Porous CuInS2 Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

A Novel Photocathode Material for Sunlight‐Driven Overall Water Splitting: Solid Solution of ZnSe and Cu(In,Ga)Se2

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO2 on Porous CuInS2 Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

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Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method

A Novel Photocathode Material for Sunlight‐Driven Overall Water Splitting: Solid Solution of ZnSe and Cu(In,Ga)Se₂

Enhancement of Solar Hydrogen Evolution from Water by Surface Modification with CdS and TiO₂ on Porous CuInS₂ Photocathodes Prepared by an Electrodeposition–Sulfurization Method