• 한국재료학회지
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.214-220
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• 2018

We report on the fabrication and photoelectrochemical(PEC) properties of a $Cu_2O$ thin film/ZnO nanorod array oxide p-n heterojunction structure with ZnO nanorods embedded in $Cu_2O$ thin film as an efficient photoelectrode for solar-driven water splitting. A vertically oriented n-type ZnO nanorod array was first prepared on an indium-tin-oxide-coated glass substrate via a seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method and then a p-type $Cu_2O$ thin film was directly electrodeposited onto the vertically oriented ZnO nanorods array to form an oxide semiconductor heterostructure. The crystalline phases and morphologies of the heterojunction materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy as well as Raman scattering. The PEC properties of the fabricated $Cu_2O/ZnO$ p-n heterojunction photoelectrode were evaluated by photocurrent conversion efficiency measurements under white light illumination. From the observed PEC current density versus voltage (J-V) behavior, the $Cu_2O/ZnO$ photoelectrode was found to exhibit a negligible dark current and high photocurrent density, e.g., $0.77mA/cm^2$ at 0.5 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$ in a $1mM\;Na_2SO_4$ electrolyte, revealing an effective operation of the oxide heterostructure. In particular, a significant PEC performance was observed even at an applied bias of 0 V vs $Hg/HgCl_2$, which made the device self-powered. The observed PEC performance was attributed to some synergistic effect of the p-n bilayer heterostructure on the formation of a built-in potential, including the light absorption and separation processes of photoinduced charge carriers.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.377-389
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• 2022

The current global energy supply depends heavily on fossil fuels. This makes technology such as direct water splitting from harvesting solar energy in photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems potentially attractive due to its a promising route for environmentally benign hydrogen production. In this study, undoped and nickel-doped molybdenum oxide photoanodes (called photoanodes S₁ and S₂ respectively) were synthesized through electrodeposition by applying -1.377 V vs Ag/AgCl (3 M KCl) for 3 hours on an FTO-coated glass substrate immersed in molibdatecitrate aqueous solutions at pH 9. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used for microstructural and compositional characterizations of the photoanodes. In addition, the optical and photoelectrochemical characterizations of these photoanodes were performed by UV-Visible spectroscopy, and linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) respectively. The results showed that all the photoanodes produced exhibit conductivity and catalytic properties that make them attractive for water splitting application in a photoelectrochemical cell. In this context, the photoanode S₂ exhibited better photocatalytic activity than the photoanode S₁. In addition, photoanode S₂ had the lowest optical band-gap energy value (2.58 eV), which would allow better utilization of the solar spectrum.

• 마이크로전자및패키징학회지
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.33-38
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• 2020

광전기화학적 물분해에서 광전극으로 이용되는 GaN은 전해질에 대해 높은 안정성을 가지고 있으며 물의 산화 환원준위를 포함하고 있어 외부전압 없이 물분해가 가능하다. 그러나 GaN 광전극의 경우, 재료 자체의 효율이 낮아 상용화하기에는 부족한 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 광효율을 향상시키기 위해 Cobalt phosphate(Co-pi) 촉매를 광전기증착(Photoelectro-deposition)방법을 통하여 GaN 광전극에 도입하였다. Co-pi 촉매 증착 후 SEM, EDS, XPS분석을 진행하여 Co-pi의 증착 여부 및 증착 정도를 확인하고, Potentiostat를 이용해 PEC 특성을 분석하였다. SEM 이미지를 통해 Co-pi가 GaN 표면 위에 20~25 nm 사이즈의 클러스터 형태로 고르게 증착되어 있는 것을 확인하였다. EDS 및 XPS 분석을 통해 GaN 표면의 입자가 Co-pi임을 확인하였다. 이 후 측정된 PEC 특성에서 Co-pi를 증착 시킨 후 0.5 mA/㎠에서 0.75 mA/㎠로 향상된 광전류밀도 값을 얻을 수 있었다. 향상된 원인을 밝히기 위하여, 임피던스 및 Mott-Schottky 측정을 진행하였고, 측정 결과, 50.35 Ω에서 34.16 Ω으로 감소한 분극저항(R_p)과 증가된 donor 농도(N_D) 값을 확인하였다. 물분해 전 후, 표면 성분을 분석한 결과 물분해 후에도 Co-pi가 남아있음으로써 Co-pi 촉매가 안정적이라는 것을 확인하였다. 이를 통해, Co-pi가 GaN의 효율 향상을 위한 촉매로서 효과가 있음을 확인하였고, 다른 광전극에 촉매로써 적용시켰을 경우, PEC 시스템의 효율을 향상시킬 수 있을 것으로 판단된다.

• 한국세라믹학회지
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• 제52권1호
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• pp.9-12
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• 2015

Nano-structured electrodes were fabricated to develop efficient photoelectrochemical conversion systems for the synthesis of hydrogen from water and hydrocarbon fuels from $CO_2$. In this work, we compared the photoactivity of rutile $TiO_2$ nanorods grown on FTO and SEED/FTO by a hydrothermal method. An analysis of the microstructures showed that the density of nanorod/SEED/FTO samples, which showed only the (002) peak in their x-ray diffraction patterns, was two times higher than that of a nanorod/FTO sample. The photocurrent density of nanorod/SEED/FTO samples was increased by as much as 40% of the photocurrent density of the nanorod/FTO sample due to the increased specific density of the nanorods. However, the transient time for a recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes was 20 times faster in the nanorod/SEED/FTO. The seed layers are discussed as possible recombination sites.