Back to Search
Start Over
Understanding the in-situ transformation of CuxO interlayers to increase the water splitting efficiency in NiO/n-Si photoanodes.
- Source :
- Nature Communications; 7/31/2024, Vol. 15, p1-11, 11p
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- The buried interface tens of nanometers beneath the solid-liquid junction is crucial for photocarrier extraction, influencing the overall efficiency of photoelectrochemical devices. Precise characterization of the interfacial properties is essential for device optimization but remains challenging. Here, we directly probe the in situ transformation of a Cu<subscript>x</subscript>O interlayer at the NiO/n-Si interface by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is found that Cu(I) in the Cu<subscript>x</subscript>O interlayer gradually transforms to Cu(II) with air exposure, forming an energetically more favorable interface and improving photoanode's efficiency. Based on this finding, a reactive e-beam evaporation process is developed for the direct deposition of a CuO interlayer, achieving a half-cell solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 4.56% for the optimized NiO/CuO/n-Si heterojunction photoanode. Our results highlight the importance of precision characterization of interfacial properties with advanced hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in guiding the design of efficient solar water-splitting devices. The buried interface beneath the solid-liquid junction is crucial for photoelectrochemical device efficiency and requires precise characterization for optimization. Here the authors probe the in situ transformation of a Cu<subscript>x</subscript>O interlayer at the NiO/n-Si interface by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and improve solar-to-hydrogen efficiency to 4.56%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- HARD X-rays
COPPER
SOLID-liquid interfaces
ELECTRON beams
HETEROJUNCTIONS
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20411723
- Volume :
- 15
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Nature Communications
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 178731110
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50893-x