Issue

Vol. 14 (2022)

Multilayer Strategy for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation: New Electrode Architecture that Alleviates Multiple Bottlenecks

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-022-00822-8
Selvaraj Seenivasan
School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong‑ro, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
Hee Moon
School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong‑ro, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea
Do‑Heyoung Kim
School of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong‑ro, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea

Corresponding Author: Do‑Heyoung Kim

kdhh@chonnam.ac.kr

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 14 (2022), Article Number: 78

Abstract

Years of research have demonstrated that the use of multiple components is essential to the development of a commercial photoelectrode to address specific bottlenecks, such as low charge separation and injection efficiency, low carrier diffusion length and lifetime, and poor durability. A facile strategy for the synthesis of multilayered photoanodes from atomic-layer-deposited ultrathin films has enabled a new type of electrode architecture with a total multilayer thickness of 15–17 nm. We illustrate the advantages of this electrode architecture by using nanolayers to address different bottlenecks, thus producing a multilayer photoelectrode with improved interface kinetics and shorter electron transport path, as determined by interface analyses. The photocurrent density was twice that of the bare structure and reached a maximum of 33.3 ± 2.1 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE. An integrated overall water-splitting cell consisting of an electrocatalytic NiS cathode and Bi2S3/NiS/NiFeO/TiO2 photoanode was used for precious-metal-free seawater splitting at a cell voltage of 1.23 V without degradation. The results and root analyses suggest that the distinctive advantages of the electrode architecture, which are superior to those of bulk bottom-up core–shell and hierarchical architectures, originate from the high density of active sites and nanometer-scale layer thickness, which enhance the suitability for interface-oriented energy conversion processes.


Highlights:


1 A multilayer architecture of layers with different functions alleviates bottlenecks in photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation. Precise thickness control within a few nanometers defines each layer’s functionality.
2 A Bi2S3/NiS/NiFeO/TiO2 photoanode had a photocurrent density of 33.3 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE under AM 1.5 G illumination.
3 Noble-metal-free seawater splitting was performed in an integrated PEC-electrocatalytic cell with an NiS electrocathode and Bi2S3/NiS/NiFeO/TiO2 photoanode.

Keywords

Atomic layer deposition Bismuth sulfide n-p junction Photoelectrochemical Nickel sulfide
Seenivasan, Selvaraj, Hee Moon, and Do‑Heyoung Kim. 2022. “Multilayer Strategy for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation: New Electrode Architecture That Alleviates Multiple Bottlenecks”. Nano-Micro Letters 14 (March):78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-022-00822-8.
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