Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/a-Si:H) have been developed with focus on high open-circuit voltages for the direct application as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. By temperature variation during deposition of the intrinsic a-Si:H abs...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2014-01-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/249317 |
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| author | F. Urbain K. Wilken V. Smirnov O. Astakhov A. Lambertz J.-P. Becker U. Rau J. Ziegler B. Kaiser W. Jaegermann F. Finger |
| author_facet | F. Urbain K. Wilken V. Smirnov O. Astakhov A. Lambertz J.-P. Becker U. Rau J. Ziegler B. Kaiser W. Jaegermann F. Finger |
| author_sort | F. Urbain |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/a-Si:H) have been developed with focus on high open-circuit voltages for the direct application as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. By temperature variation during deposition of the intrinsic a-Si:H absorber layers the band gap energy of a-Si:H absorber layers, correlating with the hydrogen content of the material, can be adjusted and combined in a way that a-Si:H/a-Si:H tandem solar cells provide open-circuit voltages up to 1.87 V. The applicability of the tandem solar cells as photocathodes was investigated in a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurement set-up. With platinum as a catalyst, the a-Si:H/a-Si:H based photocathodes exhibit a high photocurrent onset potential of 1.76 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a photocurrent of 5.3 mA/cm2 at 0 V versus RHE (under halogen lamp illumination). Our results provide evidence that a direct application of thin film silicon based photocathodes fulfills the main thermodynamic requirements to generate hydrogen. Furthermore, the presented approach may provide an efficient and low-cost route to solar hydrogen production. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6fae7d72835b4324bce15a77cb481d07 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1110-662X 1687-529X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Photoenergy |
| spelling | doaj-art-6fae7d72835b4324bce15a77cb481d072025-08-20T02:06:13ZengWileyInternational Journal of Photoenergy1110-662X1687-529X2014-01-01201410.1155/2014/249317249317Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen ProductionF. Urbain0K. Wilken1V. Smirnov2O. Astakhov3A. Lambertz4J.-P. Becker5U. Rau6J. Ziegler7B. Kaiser8W. Jaegermann9F. Finger10IEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyInstitute of Materials Science, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyInstitute of Materials Science, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyInstitute of Materials Science, TU Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, GermanyIEK-5 Photovoltaik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, GermanyHydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/a-Si:H) have been developed with focus on high open-circuit voltages for the direct application as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. By temperature variation during deposition of the intrinsic a-Si:H absorber layers the band gap energy of a-Si:H absorber layers, correlating with the hydrogen content of the material, can be adjusted and combined in a way that a-Si:H/a-Si:H tandem solar cells provide open-circuit voltages up to 1.87 V. The applicability of the tandem solar cells as photocathodes was investigated in a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurement set-up. With platinum as a catalyst, the a-Si:H/a-Si:H based photocathodes exhibit a high photocurrent onset potential of 1.76 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a photocurrent of 5.3 mA/cm2 at 0 V versus RHE (under halogen lamp illumination). Our results provide evidence that a direct application of thin film silicon based photocathodes fulfills the main thermodynamic requirements to generate hydrogen. Furthermore, the presented approach may provide an efficient and low-cost route to solar hydrogen production.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/249317 |
| spellingShingle | F. Urbain K. Wilken V. Smirnov O. Astakhov A. Lambertz J.-P. Becker U. Rau J. Ziegler B. Kaiser W. Jaegermann F. Finger Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production International Journal of Photoenergy |
| title | Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production |
| title_full | Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production |
| title_fullStr | Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production |
| title_short | Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production |
| title_sort | development of thin film amorphous silicon tandem junction based photocathodes providing high open circuit voltages for hydrogen production |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/249317 |
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