Abstract
Upscaling of photoelectrode for a practical photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting system is still challenging because the PEC performance of large-scale photoelectrode is significantly low, compared to the lab scale photoelectrode. In an effort to overcome this challenge, sputtered gold (Au) and copper (Cu) grid lines were introduced to improve the PEC performance of large-scale cuprous oxide (Cu2O) photocathode in this work. It was demonstrated that Cu grid lines are more effective than Au grid lines to improve the PEC performance of large-scale Cu2O photocathode because its intrinsic conductivity and quality of grid lines are better than ones containing Au grid lines. As a result, the PEC performance of a 25-cm2 scaled Cu2O photocathode with Cu grid lines was almost double than one without grid lines, resulting in an improved charge transport in the large area substrate by Cu grid lines. Finally, a 50-cm2 scaled Cu2O photocathode with Cu grid lines was tested in an outdoor condition under natural sun. This is the first outdoor PEC demonstration of large-scale Cu2O photocathode with Cu grid lines, which gives insight into the development of efficient upscaled PEC photoelectrode.
Highlights
The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting system has been considered a promising pathway for generating eco-friendly hydrogen [1,2,3]
The state-of-the-art Cu2O photocathode based on a nanowire structure with a gallium oxide overlayer, titanium oxide (TiO2) protection layer, and ruthenium oxide (RuOx) hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts shows a photocurrent density of −10 mA cm−2 at HER potential and stability over 100 h [13]
The photocurrent density at HER potential was reduced to −1.5 mA cm−2, while the onset potential was not changed in the large-scale Cu2O photocathode
Summary
The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting system has been considered a promising pathway for generating eco-friendly hydrogen [1,2,3]. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is a promising candidate material for efficient and durable photoelectrodes due to its band position, optical characteristic, non-toxicity, and abundancy [7,8,9] It is suitable for a PEC photocathode because it is a p-type semiconductor and its conduction band is more negative than the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) potential. The state-of-the-art Cu2O photocathode based on a nanowire structure with a gallium oxide overlayer, titanium oxide (TiO2) protection layer, and ruthenium oxide (RuOx) HER catalysts shows a photocurrent density of −10 mA cm−2 at HER potential and stability over 100 h [13] It is a considerable PEC performance with remarkable stability, it is limited to the lab scale Cu2O photocathode below 1 cm
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