A Photoelectrochemical Device with Dynamic Interface Energetics: Understanding of Structural and Physical Specificities and Improvement of Performance and Stability

The basic configuration of a photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting device contains a semiconductor junction, which separates charge carriers by developing interface energetics. Recently, porous metal oxide/semiconductor junctions have shown that flat-band potentials (V-fb), representing interface energetics, could be dynamically changed with PEC reactions. However, it remains unclear as to what structural and physical specificities of the porous metal oxide induce the dynamic V-fb. Herein, it is demonstrated that the electrolyte permeability and nanocrystal structure of porous NiOx are crucial for the dynamic V-fb in porous NiOx integrated Si photocathodes. A comparison of the dense and porous NiOx with electrolyte impermeable and permeable features, respectively, shows that V-fb changes only in the porous NiOx. The porous NiOx also exhibits a nanocrystal structure and increased V-fb values with a decrease in nanocrystal size. As a result of the increased V-fb, the porous NiOx achieves much higher PEC performance compared to that of the dense NiOx. However, electrolyte permeability causes electrochemical decomposition of the Si component. Thus, a cointegration of the porous and dense NiOx bilayers, which ensures stable PEC operation for 10 h while achieving high potentials of 0.2 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode at a photocurrent of 10 mA cm(-2), is proposed.