DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Photoelectrodeposition of NiMo Catalyst on Cu2O Photocathodes for Enhanced Solar-to-Hydrogen Energy Conversion

  • Ji Hoon Choi (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Ji Hye Jeong (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Hak Hyeon Lee (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University) ;
  • Hyung Koun Cho (School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University)
  • 투고 : 2024.10.28
  • 심사 : 2024.12.10
  • 발행 : 2024.12.31

초록

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers an eco-friendly method to convert solar energy into hydrogen, with recent advancements improving efficiency. However, despite direct hydrogen production on photocathode surfaces, research into high-performance, stable photocathode-specific catalysts remains limited. In this study, we optimized a NiMo hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst on Cu2O-based photocathodes using a photoelectrodeposition (PED) method to enhance PEC water-splitting efficiency. Key deposition parameters, including light, current density, applied voltage, and time, were systematically controlled to ensure uniform NiMo catalyst deposition without post-treatments. Under simulated 1-sun illumination, the optimized NiMo catalyst achieved 93% of the performance of conventional Pt catalysts and maintained stable hydrogen production for over 20 hours. Electrochemical analysis confirmed superior PEC performance of the NiMo catalyst, particularly at a fixed current density of -1.5 ㎂ cm-2. This study introduces a noble metal-free catalyst deposition method, advancing solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency and long-term PEC device stability.

키워드

과제정보

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (2021R1A2C3011870).

참고문헌

  1. P. K. Nayak, S. Mahesh, H. J. Snaith, D. Cahen, Photovoltaic solar cell technologies: analysing the state of the art. Nat. Rev. Mater. 4, 269-285 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0097-0
  2. T. Hisatomi, J. Kubota, K. Domen, Recent advances in semiconductors for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 7520-7535 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1039/C3CS60378D
  3. H. S. Jung, N. G. Park, Perovskite Solar Cells: From Materials to Devices. Small. 11(1), 10-25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201402767
  4. J. Y. Kim, J. W. Lee, H. S. Jung, H. J. Shin, N. G. Park, High-Efficiency perovskite solar cells. Chem. Rev. 120(15), 7867-7918 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00107
  5. H. J. Hong, S. M. Lee, J. M. Im, J. H. Noh, Study for improved photocurrent via high concentrated tin-lead perovskite precursor solution. Current Photovoltaic Research. 11(3), 96-102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.21218/CPR.2023.11.3.096
  6. H. Y. Lee, S. B. Hong, D. H. Kim, Study on auger recombination control using barrier SiO2 in high-quality polysilicon/tunneling oxide based emitter formation. Current Photovoltaic Research. 12(2), 31-36 (2024). https://doi.org/10.21218/CPR.2024.12.2.031
  7. H. J. Seok, D. K. Lee, H. K. Kim, Multicoated flexible indium tin oxide electrodes fabricated using magnetron sputtering and arc plasma ion plating for flexible perovskite solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 16(36), 47961-47972 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c12138
  8. Y. Yang, S. Niu, D. Han, T. Liu, G. Wang, Progress in developing metal oxide nanomaterials for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Adv. Energy Mater. 7, 1700555 (2017).
  9. S. Chen, T. Liu, Z. Zheng, M. Ishaq, G. Ling, P. Fan, T. Chen, J. Tang, Recent progress and perspectives on Sb2Se3-based photocathodes for solar hydrogen production via photo-electrochemical water splitting. J. Energy Chem. 67, 508-523 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2021.08.062
  10. J. H. Choi, D. S. Kim, Y. B. Kim, S. H. Jung, S. Sarker, N. G. Deshpande, H. H. Lee, H. W. Suh, H. K. Cho, Bundle-type columnar Cu2O photoabsorbers with vertical grain boundaries fabricated using instant strike-processed metallic seeds and their enhanced photoelectrochemical efficiency. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 9(18), 6390-6399 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c00931
  11. H. J. Seok, S. H. Kim, K. M. Yeom, J. H. Noh, H. K. Kim, Cost-effective transparent n-doped tin oxide electrodes with excellent thermal and chemical stabilities enabling stable perovskite photovoltaics based on tin oxide electron transport layer. Adv. Energy Mater. 14, 2303859 (2024).
  12. J. W. Yang, S. G. Ji, C. S. Jeong, J. H. Kim, H. R. Kwon, T. H. Lee, S. A. Lee, W. S. Cheon, S. J. Lee, H. S. Lee, M. S. Kwon, J. H. Moon, J. Y. Kim, H. W. Jang, High-efficiency unbiased water splitting with photoanodes harnessing polycarbazole hole transport layers. Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 2541 (2024).
  13. H. S. Han, W. S. Park, A. Sivanantham, S. W. Hwang, S. Surendran, U. Sim, I. S. Cho, Facile fabrication of nanotubular heterostructure for enhanced photoelectrochemical performance. Ceram. Int. 47(3), 3972-3977 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.09.261
  14. H. S. Han, W. S. Park, S. W. Hwang, H. K. Kim, Y. L. Sim, S. Surendran, U. Sim, I. S. Cho, (020)-Textured tungsten trioxide nanostructure with enhanced photoelectrochemical activity. J. Catal. 389, 328-336 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2020.06.012
  15. W. S. Yang, S. M. Lee, H. C. Kwon, J. Tan, H. S. Lee, J. M. Park, Y. J. Oh, H. Y. Choi, J. H. Moon, Time-resolved observations of photo-generated charge-carrier dynamics in Sb2Se3 photocathodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting. ACS Nano. 12(11), 11088-1109 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b05446
  16. G. Liang, Z. Li, M. Ishaq, Z. Zheng, Z. Su, H. Ma, X. Zhang, P. Fan, S. Chen, Charge separation enhancement enables record photocurrent density in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 photocathodes for efficient solar hydrogen production. Adv. Energy Mater. 13, 2300215 (2023).
  17. R. Rhee, T. G. Kim, G. Y. Jang, G. M. Bae, J. H. Lee, S. J. Lee, S. S. Kim, S. W. Jeon, J. H. Park, Unassisted overall water splitting with a solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of over 10% by coupled lead halide perovskite photoelectrodes. Carbon Energy. 5, e232 (2023).
  18. A. Paracchino, V. Laporte, K. Sivula, M. Grätzel, E. Thimsen, Highly active oxide photocathode for photoelectrochemical water reduction. Nature Mater. 10, 456-461 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3017
  19. G. K. Seo, B. N. Kim, S. W. Hwang, S. S. Shin, I. S. Cho, High-performance bulky crystalline copper bismuthate photo-cathode for enhanced solar water splitting. Nano Energy. 80, 105568 (2021).
  20. J. H. Choi, H. H. Lee, S. H. Jeon, S. Sarker, D. S. Kim, E. A. Stach, H. K. Cho, Photoilluminated redox-processed rh2p nanoparticles on photocathodes for stable hydrogen production in acidic environments. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 16(17), 21953-21964 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c02147
  21. M. Xia, L. Pan, Y. Liu, J. Gao, J. Li, M. Mensi, K. Sivula, S. M. Zakeeruddin, D. Ren, M. Grätzel, Efficient Cu2O photocathodes for aqueous photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction to formate and syngas. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 145(51), 27939-27949 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c06146
  22. M. Zhang, J. Wang, H. Xue, J. Zhang, S. Peng, X. Han, Y. Deng, W. Hu, Acceptor-doping accelerated charge separation in Cu2O photocathode for photoelectrochemical water splitting: Theoretical and experimental studies. Angew. Chem. 132, 18621-18625 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.202007680
  23. J. H. Kim, D. Hansora, P. Sharma, J. W. J. S. Lee, Toward practical solar hydrogen production–an artificial photosynthetic leaf-to-farm challenge, Chem. Soc. Rev. 48, 1908-1971 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1039/C8CS00699G
  24. L. Pan, J. H. Kim, M. T. Mayer, M. K. Son, A. Ummadisingu, J. S. Lee, A. Hagfeldt, J. Luo, M. Grätzel, Boosting the performance of Cu2O photocathodes for unassisted solar water splitting devices. Nat. Catal. 1, 412-420 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-018-0077-6
  25. A. Paracchino, J. C. Brauer, J. E. Moser, E. Thimsen, M. Grätzel, Synthesis and characterization of high-photoactivity electrodeposited Cu2O solar absorber by photoelectrochemistry and ultrafast spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem. C. 116, 7341-7350 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1021/jp301176y
  26. J. H. Choi, D. S. Kim, S. Sarker, H. H. Lee, H. W. Suh, S. H. Jung, K. W. Lee, H. S. Lee, H. K. Cho, Atomic-scale platinum deposition on photocathodes by multiple redox cycles under illumination for enhanced solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion. J. Power Sources. 533, 231410 (2022).
  27. S. A. Lee, J. W. Yang, S. K. Choi, H. W. Jang, Nanoscale electrodeposition: Dimension control and 3D conformality. Exploration. 1(3), 20210012 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/EXP.20210012
  28. J. R. McKone, E. L. Warren, M. J. Bierman, S. W. Boettcher, B. S. Brunschwig, N. S. Lewis, H. B. Gray, Evaluation of Pt, Ni, and Ni–Mo electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution on crystalline Si electrodes. Energy Environ. Sci. 4, 3573 (2011).
  29. J. H. Choi, H. J. Seok, D. C. Sung, D. S. Kim, H. H. Lee, S. Hong, H. K. Kim, H. K. Cho, Electrodeposited copper oxides with a suppressed interfacial amorphous phase using mixed-crystalline ITO and their enhanced photoelectrochemical performances. J. Energy Chem. 82, 277-286 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2023.03.040
  30. D. Neumüller, L. D. Rafailović, I. A. Pašti, T. Griesser, C. Gammer, J. Eckert, Revealing the role of mo leaching in the structural transformation of NiMo thin film catalysts upon hydrogen evolution reaction. Small. 20, 2402200 (2024).
  31. A. Nairan, P. Zou, C. Liang, J. Liu, D. Wu, P. Liu, C. Yang, NiMo solid solution nanowire array electrodes for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction. Adv. Funct. Mater. 29, 1903747 (2019).