Abstract
The performance of silicon for water oxidation and hydrogen production can be improved by exploiting the antireflective properties of nanostructured silicon substrates. In this work, silicon nanowires were fabricated by metal-assisted electroless etching of silicon. An enhanced photocurrent density of −17 mA/cm2 was observed for the silicon nanowires coated with an iron sulphur carbonyl catalyst when compared to bare silicon nanowires (−5 mA/cm2). A substantial amount of 315 µmol/h hydrogen gas was produced at low bias potentials for the silicon nanowires coated with an iron sulphur carbonyl catalyst.
Highlights
The depletion of fossil fuels and the effects of global warming and pollution caused by their combustion is a major challenge of modern societies
An artificial photosynthesis device consists of a photoanode and a photocathode, respectively, for the oxidation and reduction of water molecules to O2 and H2, respectively [1]
A reproducible and well-regulated fabrication of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) can be achieved through a metal-assisted electroless chemical etching (MACE) approach [23]
Summary
The depletion of fossil fuels and the effects of global warming and pollution caused by their combustion is a major challenge of modern societies. Nanostructured forms of silicon namely porous silicon (pSi) [6,7], pSi micro/nanoparticles [8,9,10] and silicon nanowires (SiNWs) [11,12,13] have demonstrated its potential in solar water splitting. Well-ordered silicon pores/wires can be fabricated using a lithographical etching technique [26,27] Both SiNWs and pSi have been widely used as photoelectrodes, in PEC water splitting. We hypothesise that the high surface area of the nanostructured SiNWs improved the catalyst loading and reduced the reflection of the incoming light for improved solar energy conversion. We hypothesise that the high surface area of the nanostructured SiNWs improved the catalyst loading and reduced the reflection of the incoming light. SSSiiilllvvveeerrr nnniiitttrrraaattteee (((AAAgggNNNOOO333))) aaannnddd hhhyyydddrrrooogggeeennn pppeeerrroooxxxiiidddeee (((HHH222OOO222))) (((333000%%%))) wwweeerrreee pppuuurrrccchhhaaassseeeddd fffrrrooommm MMMeeerrrccckkk (((VVViiiccctttooorrriiiaaa,,,AAAuuussstttrrraaallliiiaaa))).
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