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Development of a hybrid photoelectrochemical (PEC) device with amorphous silicon carbide as the photoelectrode for water splitting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Jian Hu ,
Feng Zhu ,
Ilvydas Matulionis ,
Todd Deutsch ,
Nicolas Gaillard ,
Eric L. Miller  and
Arun Madan
Jian Hu
Affiliation:
jhu@mvsystemsinc.com, MVSystems, Inc, Golden, Colorado, United States
Feng Zhu
Affiliation:
fzhu@mvsystemsinc.com, MVSystems, Inc, Golden, Colorado, United States
Ilvydas Matulionis
Affiliation:
imatulionis@mvsystemsinc.com, MVSystems, Inc, Golden, Colorado, United States
Todd Deutsch
Affiliation:
Todd_Deutsch@nrel.gov, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, United States
Nicolas Gaillard
Affiliation:
ngaillar@hawaii.edu, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Eric L. Miller
Affiliation:
ericm@hawaii.edu, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Arun Madan
Affiliation:
arunmadan@aol.com, MVSystems, Inc, Golden, Colorado, United States
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Abstract

We report on an integrated photoelectrochemical (PEC) device for hydrogen production using amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) material as the photoelectrode in conjunction with an amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) tandem photovoltaic device. With the use of a-Si:H tandem solar cell, the flat-band potential of the hybrid PEC structure shifts significantly below the H2O/O2 half-reaction potential and is in an appropriate position to facilitate water splitting. Under reverse bias, saturated photocurrent of the hybrid device ranges between 3 to 5 mA/cm2 under AM1.5 light intensity. In a two-electrode setup (with ruthenium oxide counter electrode), which is analogous to a real PEC configuration, the hybrid cell produces photocurrent of about 0.83 mA/cm2at zero bias and hydrogen production is observed. The hybrid device exhibits good durability in pH2 buffered electrolyte for up to 150 hours (so far tested).

Keywords

amorphousplasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) (deposition)film
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1171: Symposium S – Materials in Photocatalysis and Photoelectrochemistry for Environmental Applications and H2 Generation , 2009 , 1171-S03-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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