Earth-Abundant Molecular Z-Scheme Photoelectrochemical Cell for Overall Water-Splitting
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: A push–pull organic dye and a cobaloxime catalyst were successfully cografted on NiO and CuGaO 2 to form efficient molecular photocathodes for H 2 production with >80% Faradaic efficiency. CuGaO 2 is emerging as a more effective p-type semiconductor in photoelectrochemical cells and yields a photocathode with 4-fold higher photocurrent densities and 400 mV more positive onset photocurrent potential compared to the one based on NiO. Such an optimized CuGaO 2 photocathode was combined with a TaON | CoO x photoanode in a photoelectrochemical cell. Operated in this Z-scheme configuration, the two photoelectrodes produced H 2 and O 2 from water with 87% and 88% Faradaic efficiency, respectively, at pH 7 under visible light and in the absence of an applied bias, equating to a solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency of 5.4 × 10 –3 %. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest efficiency reported so far for a molecular-based noble metal-free water splitting Z-scheme.
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b02521
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, CEA Grenoble, Laboratoire de Chimie et Biologie des Métaux, Université Grenoble Alpes, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Kyoto University, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Paris-Saclay - Etablissement de Saclay, CEA Paris-Saclay, Nanosciences et Innovation pour les Matériaux, la Biomédecine et l'Énergie, Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1295401803, CBH-EUR-GS, G2782441152, Molecular Photocathodes for CO2 reduction and H2 evolution, Grenoble, une chimie bio-motivée, Development of stand-alone artificial photosynthetic systems consisting of metal complex and semiconductor by photoelectrochemical methods, G3897409740, G4316055986
OpenAlex ID: W2946980048