Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV18)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.hopv.2018.200
Publication date: 21st February 2018
Although photocathodes that are based on Si, GaInP2, GaP and copper indium gallium sulphide/selenide (CIGS) exhibit high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiencies, they either contain rare elements or require high cost processing techniques. In order to compete with crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic-coupled electrolysis for widespread solar hydrogen generation, new materials are required that are simultaneously high efficiency, Earth-abundant, and stable in an aqueous electrolyte, while being fabricated at low cost.
In this presentation, I will discuss our work with highly active photocathodes based on Sb2Se3 that feature abundant MoSx catalyst. Photocurrents up to ~16 mA cm-2 have been obtained at 0 V vs RHE in 1 M H2SO4 under simulated one sun AM 1.5 G irradiation. These photocathodes show high incident photon to current conversion efficiencies over the entire visible spectrum, and until the band edge of Sb2Se3 (1.2 eV). The small decrease in photocurrent density with time (20 h) was found to result from degradation of the amorphous catalyst, while the Sb2Se3 absorber resisted photocorrosion in the strongly acidic media. The simple and low cost fabrication method–combined with the high performance and stability of the photocathode–makes Sb2Se3/MoSx a strong candidate for large scale solar hydrogen production. Additionally, some other materials will be discussed, such as CuO and Cu2O-based photocathodes.