Abstract
An electrode of a light-induced cell for water splitting based on a broadband Tamm plasmon polariton localized at the interface between a thin TiN layer and a chirped photonic crystal has been developed. To facilitate the injection of hot electrons from the metal layer by decreasing the Schottky barrier, a thin n-Si film is embedded between the metal layer and multilayer mirror. The chipping of a multilayer mirror provides a large band gap and, as a result, leads to an increase in the integral absorption from 52 to 60 percent in the wavelength range from 700 to 1400 nm. It was shown that the photoresponsivity of the device is 32.1 mA/W, and solar to hydrogen efficiency is 3.95%.
Highlights
Hydrogen is an ideal element for transport, storage, and generation of electricity with zero carbon emissions, since, when pure hydrogen is used as a fuel, only the water vapor is generated
We proposed a design of an electrode of the photoelectrochemical cell based on a chirped photonic crystal and a thin titanium nitride layer separated by a semiconductor layer
The Tamm plasmon can be excited in the structure, and the corresponding broadband resonance appears in the absorption spectrum of the structure
Summary
The current reduction of fossil fuel reserves generates a need for the development of alternative, primarily renewable, energy sources. The fundamental difference is that the conversion of the electrical energy into the useful work can, in principle, be performed at any voltage To decompose water, it should theoretically be at least 1.23 eV, i.e., higher than the thermodynamic redox potential for overall water splitting. The first priority in water splitting is fabrication of the structures with the high solar energy conversion efficiency. A promising way of increasing the efficiency of light-induced water splitting is the introduction of plasmon-active nanostructures into the design of photocatalysts [8–16]. Such devices are developed to increase the oxidation photocurrent induced by the injection of hot electrons created by plasmons into a catalytic medium. We expect that chirping will ensure the more efficient light harvesting, increase the photocurrent of water oxidation, and enhance the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency
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