CdTe-Based Photoanode for Oxygen Evolution from Water under Simulated Sunlight

This study investigated the properties of a photoanode fabricated by depositing a p-type CdTe thin film on a CdS-coated FTO substrate (CdTe/CdS/FTO) via close-space sublimation. This CdTe/CdS/FTO electrode was found to work as a photoanode with a long absorption edge wavelength of 830 nm. In a CdTe-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physical chemistry letters 2017-12, Vol.8 (23), p.5712-5717
Main Authors: Su, Jin, Minegishi, Tsutomu, Kageshima, Yosuke, Kobayashi, Hiroyuki, Hisatomi, Takashi, Higashi, Tomohiro, Katayama, Masao, Domen, Kazunari
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This study investigated the properties of a photoanode fabricated by depositing a p-type CdTe thin film on a CdS-coated FTO substrate (CdTe/CdS/FTO) via close-space sublimation. This CdTe/CdS/FTO electrode was found to work as a photoanode with a long absorption edge wavelength of 830 nm. In a CdTe-based photoanode such as this, the p–n junction formed at the CdTe/CdS interface promotes charge separation of photoexcited carriers and forces photogenerated holes to move toward the photoanode surface to promote oxidation reactions on the electrode surface. A MoO x buffer layer was also found to play a crucial role in facilitating the transfer of photogenerated holes to surface reaction sites through decreasing the energy barrier at the interface between the CdTe and a surface protective layer. A biphotoelectrode photoelectrochemical cell composed of a CdTe-based photoanode and a CdTe-based photocathode exhibited a solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 0.22% without an external voltage in response to illumination by AM 1.5G light.
ISSN:1948-7185
1948-7185
DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b02526