• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2010년도 춘계학술대회 초록집
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• pp.87-87
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• 2010

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems are promising methods of producing H2 gas using solar energy in an aqueous solution. The photoelectrochemical properties of numerous metal oxides have been studied. Among them, the PEC systems based on TiO2 have been extensively studied. However, the drawback of a PEC system with TiO2 is that only ultraviolet (UV) light can be absorbed because of its large band gap (3.2 - 3.4 eV). Two approaches have been introduced in order to use PEC cells in the visible light region. The first method includes doping impurities, such as nitrogen, into TiO2, and this technique has been extensively studied in an attempt to narrow the band gap. In comparison, research on the second method, which includes visible light water splitting in molecular photosystems, has been slow. Mallouk et al. recently developed electrochemical water-splitting cells using the Ru(II) complex as the visible light photosensitizer. the dye-sensitized PEC cell consisted of a dye-sensitized TiO2 layer, a Pt counter electrode, and an aqueous solution between them. Under a visible light (< 3 eV) illumination, only the dye molecule absorbed the light and became excited because TiO2 had the wide band gap. The light absorption of the dye was followed by the transfer of an electron from the excited state (S*) of the dye to the conduction band (CB) of TiO2 and its subsequent transfer to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). The electrons moved through the wire to the Pt, where the water reduction (or H2 evolution) occurred. The oxidized dye molecules caused the water oxidation because their HOMO level was below the H2O/O2 level. Organic dyes have been developed as metal-free alternatives to the Ru(II) complexes because of their tunable optical and electronic properties and low-cost manufacturing. Recently, organic dye molecules containing multi-branched, multi-anchoring groups have received a great deal of interest. In this work, tri-branched tri-anchoring organic dyes (Dye 2) were designed and applied to visible light water-splitting cells based on dye-sensitized TiO2 electrodes. Dye 2 had a molecular structure containing one donor (D) and three acceptor (A) groups, and each ended with an anchoring functionality. In comparison, mono-anchoring dyes (Dye 1) were also synthesized. The PEC response of the Dye 2-sensitized TiO2 film was much better than the Dye 1-sensitized or unsensitized TiO2 films.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• 제30권5호
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• pp.239-245
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• 2020

Synthesizing one-dimensional nanostructures of oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to fabricate highefficiency photoelectrodes for hydrogen production from photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, vertically aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays are successfully synthesized on fluorine-doped-tin-oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate via seed-mediated hydrothermal synthesis method with the use of a ZnO nanoparticle seed layer, which is formed by thermally oxidizing a sputtered Zn metal thin film. The structural, optical and PEC properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays synthesized at varying levels of Zn sputtering power are examined to reveal that the optimum ZnO nanorod array can be obtained at a sputtering power of 20 W. The photocurrent density and the optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency obtained for the optimum ZnO nanorod array photoanode are 0.13 mA/㎠ and 0.49 %, respectively, at a potential of 0.85 V vs. RHE. These results provide a promising avenue to fabricating earth-abundant ZnO-based photoanodes for PEC water oxidation using facile hydrothermal synthesis.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• 제30권9호
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• pp.441-446
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• 2020

Synthesizing nanostructured thin films of oxide semiconductors is a promising approach to fabricate highly efficient photoelectrodes for hydrogen production via photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, we investigate the feasibility as an efficient photoanode for PEC water oxidation of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructured thin films synthesized via a simple method combined with sputtering Zn metallic films on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate and subsequent thermal oxidation of the sputtered Zn metallic films in dry air. Characterization of the structural, optical, and PEC properties of the ZnO nanostructured thin film synthesized at varying Zn sputtering powers reveals that we can obtain an optimum ZnO nanostructured thin film as PEC photoanode at a sputtering power of 40 W. The photocurrent density and optimal photocurrent conversion efficiency for the optimum ZnO nanostructured thin film photoanode are found to be 0.1 mA/㎠ and 0.51 %, respectively, at a potential of 0.72 V vs. RHE. Our results illustrate that the ZnO nanostructured thin film has promising potential as an efficient photoanode for PEC water splitting.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.130-135
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• 2005

Cadmium selenide is one of the group IIb-VI compounds, which is the promising semiconductor material due to its wide range of technological applications in optoelectronic devices such as photoelectrochemical cells, solid state solar cells, thin film photoconductors etc. CdSe has optical band gap of 1.7-1.8eV and proper conduction band edge for water splitting. CdSe films are coated with small thickness(20-50nm) nanocrystalline $TiO_2$ film by electrodeposition or chemical bath deposition methods and PEC properties of CdSe and CdSe/$TiO_2$ sandwich structure are studied. The photoactivity of CdSe and CdSe/$TiO_2$ films deposited on titanium substrate is studied in aqueous electrolyte of 1M NaOH solution. Photocurrent and photovoltage obtained were of the order of 2-4 mA/$cm^2$ and 0.5V, respectively, under the intensity of illumination of 100 mW/$cm^2$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 한국표면공학회 2018년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.50.2-50.2
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• 2018

The demand for steady and dependable power sources is very high in the field of sustainable energy because of the limited amount of fossil fuels reserves. Among several sustainable alternatives, solar energy may be the most efficient solution because it constitutes the largest renewable energy source. So far, the only practical way to store such large amounts of energy has been to use a chemical energy carrier likewise a fuel. In various solar energy to power conversion systems, the photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen by the direct use of solar energy is an ideal process. It is a renewable method of hydrogen production integrated with solar energy absorption and water electrolysis using a single photoelectrode. Previous studies on photoelectrode films for PEC water splitting cells have been mainly focused on synthesizing oxide semiconductors with wide band gaps, such as TiO2(3.2eV), WO3(2.8eV), and Fe2O3(2.3eV). Unfortunately, these pristine oxide photoanodes without any catalysts have relatively low photocurrent densities because of the inherent limitation of insufficient visible light absorption due to the wide bandgap. Specifically, there is a tradeoff between high photocurrent and photoelectrochemical corrosion behavior, which is representative of figures of meritf or PEC materials.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.191-195
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• 2011

Wet chemical etching methods were utilized to conduct Si surface texturing, which could enhance photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation rate. Two different etching methods tested, which were anisotropic metal-catalyzed electroless etching and isotropic etching. The Si nano-texture that was fabricated by the anisotropic etching showed ~25% increase in photocurrent for H2 generation. The photocurrent enhancement was attributed to the reduced reflection loss at the nano-textured Si surface, which provided a layer of intermediate density between water and the Si substrate.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국신재생에너지학회 2008년도 춘계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.495-498
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• 2008

Photocatalytic water splitting into $H_2$ and $O_2$ using semiconductors has received much attention, especially for its potential application to direct production of $H_2$ for clean energy from water utilizing solar light energy. Since the report of Fujishima and Honda on the water splitting by photoelectrochemical cells, numerous different semiconducting materials have been used as photocatalysts for hydrogen generation from water. Among them, platinized titania significantly accelerates hydrogen production from water. For geometrical improvement of $TiO_2$ particle, porous $TiO_2$ structure was proposed and studied such as nanofiber, nanorod and nototubes. This research focuses on finding out the optimum temperature and electrolyte to produce $H_2$ by solar water splitting.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2014

This review article summarizes photoelectrochemical water splitting using gallium nitride (GaN). GaN materials have been studied as novel photoelectrode material due to its chemical stability and easy band gap engineering. Unlike other semiconductor materials that are easily corroded in strongly acidic or alkaline electrolyte, n-type GaN is chemically stable enough to be used as photoanode in oxygen evolution reaction. Furthermore, studies on p-type GaN have been recently reported. This review briefly discusses problems that need to be solved before GaN materials find widespread use in solar fuel application.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.185-202
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• 2018

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells can convert solar energy, the largest potential source of renewable energy, into hydrogen fuel which can be stored, transported, and used on demand. In terms of cost competitiveness compared with fossil fuels, however, both photocatalytic efficiency and cost-effectiveness must be achieved simultaneously. Improvement of cost-effective, scalable, versatile, and eco-friendly fabrication methods has emerged as an urgent mission for PEC cells, and solution-based fabrication methods could be capable of meeting these demands. Herein, we review recent challenges for various nanostructured oxide photoelectrodes fabricated by solution-based processes. Hematite, tungsten oxide, bismuth vanadate, titanium oxide, and copper oxides are the main oxides focused on, and various strategies have been attempted with respect to these photocatalyst materials. The effects of nanostructuring, heterojunctions, and co-catalyst loading on the surface are discussed. Our review introduces notable solution-based processes for water splitting photoelectrodes and gives an outlook on eco-friendly and cost-effective approaches to solar fuel generation and innovative artificial photosynthesis technologies.

• Rapid Communication in Photoscience
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.82-85
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• 2015

Photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) is one of the attractive ways to produce clean and renewable energy. However, solar to hydrogen production via PEC system generally requires high external bias, because of material's innate electronic band potential relative to hydrogen reduction potential and/or charge separation issue. For spontaneous photo-water splitting, here, we design dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and their monolithic tandem cell incorporated with a $BiVO_4$ photoanode. $BiVO_4$ has high conduction band edge potential and suitable band gap (2.4eV) to absorb visible light. To achieve efficient $BiVO_4$ photoanode system, electron and hole mobility should be improved, and we demonstrate a tandem cell in which $BiVO_4/WO_3$ film is connected to cobalt complex based DSSC.