One-step controllable fabrication of 3D structured self-standing Al₃Ni₂/Ni electrode through molten salt electrolysis for efficient water splitting

Exploring more efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts to replace platinum (Pt) is highly desired to promote the practical hydrogen production through water splitting. Herein, a facile and effective strategy is proposed to fabricate self-standing Al₃Ni₂/Ni electrode with controlled phase composition and surface...

Comprehensive Review on Two-Step Thermochemical Water Splitting for Hydrogen Production in a Redox Cycle

The interest in and need for carbon-free fuels that do not rely on fossil fuels are constantly growing from both environmental and energetic perspectives. Green hydrogen production is at the core of the transition away from conventional fuels. Along with popularly investigated pathways for hydrogen production, thermochemical water splitting...

Efficient Continuous Light-Driven Electrochemical Water Splitting Enabled by Monolithic Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Photovoltaics

Solar-assisted water electrolysis is a promising technology for storing the energy of incident solar irradiation into hydrogen as a fuel. Here, an integrated continuous flow electrochemical reactor coupled to a monolithic perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell is demonstrated that provides light-driven electrochemical solar-to-hydrogen...

Durability Testing of Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production under Day/Night Light Cycled Conditions

This work investigates long-term photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution (82 days) in 1 M HClO4 using a TiO2:H protected crystalline Si-based photocathode with metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) junctions. It is shown that day/night cycling leads to relatively rapid performance degradation while the photocurrent under the continuous light condition...

Improving the Back Surface Field on an Amorphous Silicon Carbide Thin Film Photocathode for Solar Water Splitting

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) is a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting owing to its relatively small band-gap energy and high chemical and optoelectrical stability. This work studies the interplay between charge-carrier separation and collection, and their injection into the electrolyte, when modifying the...

Novel Concepts for Silicon Based Photovoltaics and Photoelectrochemistry

Long term concerns about climate change and fossil fuel depletion will require a transition towards energy systems powered by solar radiation or other renewable sources. Novel concepts based on silicon materials and devices are investigated for applications in the next generation photovoltaic (PV) devices and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water...

Towards Highly Efficient Bias-Free Solar Water Splitting

Solar water splitting has attracted significant attention due to its potential of converting solar to chemical energy. It uses semiconductor to convert sunlight into electron-hole pairs, which then split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be used as a renewable fuel, or it can serve as a feedstock material to form hydrocarbons....

Wet ammonia Synthesis of Semiconducting N:Ta2O5, Ta3N5 and ?-TaON Films for Photoanode Applications

Tantalum oxynitride (?-TaON) is a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting. However, the synthesis of phase-pure ?-TaON films is a challenging task. This paper describes a novel approach to achieve this by the controlled nitridation of Ta2O5 films under a flow of ammonia gas (ammonolysis), which was obtained by...

Influence of point defects on the performance of InVO4 photoanodes

The properties of thin film InVO4 photoanodes for water splitting have been studied. Compact films of InVO4 were prepared by spray pyrolysis and are found to be stable between pH 3 and 11. Although the indirect bandgap is 3.2 eV, a modest amount of visible light absorption is observed. The origin of this absorption is attributed to the presence...

Influence of point defects on the performance of InVO4 photoanodes

The properties of thin film InVO4 photoanodes for water splitting have been studied. Compact films of InVO4 were prepared by spray pyrolysis and are found to be stable between pH 3 – 11. Although the indirect bandgap is 3.2 eV, a modest amount of visible light absorption is observed. The origin of this absorption is attributed to the presence of...