Proceedings of nanoGe September Meeting 2017 (NFM17)
Publication date: 20th June 2016
Research on the synthesis and characterization of semiconductor nanowires is continuously increasing especially for applications in the field of energy conversion, such as for instance solar cells, photocatalysis, and photoelectrochemical water splitting for hydrogen production [1]. One attractive approach to improve the efficiency of solar to hydrogen conversion is the use of nanowire architectures since, in comparison to films, they offer larger surface areas and permit to dramatically reduce the ratio of the minority carrier diffusion length over the light absorption depth [2]. Among the various materials studied as photocathodes for hydrogen production via water splitting, Cu2O is a promising candidate. A solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of ~18% has been predicted for this p-type semiconductor with a band gap of 2 eV [3]. Moreover, Cu2O has favorable band energy positions for water splitting and is also earth-abundant, scalable, non-toxic, and compatible with low-cost fabrication processes. Its chemical stability in aqueous solution can be improved by adding protection layers.
Among the various methods available to synthesize Cu2O nanowires, we apply ion-track nanotechnology [4]. The fabrication and characterization of parallel and highly textured Cu2O nanowire arrays obtained by electrodeposition in etched ion-track membranes will be presented. Nanowire diameter, length, number density, and crystallinity are adjusted in a controlled and systematic manner during the synthesis. After removal of the polymer membrane in an organic solvent, the freestanding nanowire arrays are coated by an additional electrodeposited Cu2O layer to avoid direct contact between the electrolyte and the metallic support layer. Finally, a conformal TiO2 film is applied by atomic layer deposition. Photoelectrochemical measurements on these nanowire-based electrodes will be presented, and the influence of their geometrical characteristics on their photoelectrochemical performance will be discussed.
References
[1] A. I. Hochbaum, P. Yang, Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 527-546.
[2] R. van de Krol, M. Grätzel, Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production, Springer, 2012.
[3] A. Paracchino, V. Laporte, K. Sivula, M. Grätzel, E. Thimsen, Nat. Mater. 2011, 10, 456-461.
[4] M. E. Toimil-Molares, Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 860–883.
nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.
Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.
The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.