Hydrogel protection strategy to stabilize water-splitting photoelectrodes

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is an attractive solar-to-hydrogen pathway. However, the lifetime of photoelectrochemical devices is hampered by severe photocorrosion of semiconductors and instability of co-catalysts. Here we report a strategy for stabilizing photoelectrochemical devices that u...

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Published inNature energy Vol. 7; no. 6; pp. 537 - 547
Main Authors Tan, Jeiwan, Kang, Byungjun, Kim, Kyungmin, Kang, Donyoung, Lee, Hyungsoo, Ma, Sunihl, Jang, Gyumin, Lee, Hyungsuk, Moon, Jooho
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 09.06.2022
Subjects
Antimony compounds
Catalysts
Electronics industry
Hydrogels
Hydrogen production
Permeability
Photocathodes
Photoelectric effect
Photoelectrochemical devices
Polyacrylamide
Protectors
Selenides
Service life assessment
Splitting
Structural stability
Titanium dioxide
Water splitting
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Summary:Photoelectrochemical water splitting is an attractive solar-to-hydrogen pathway. However, the lifetime of photoelectrochemical devices is hampered by severe photocorrosion of semiconductors and instability of co-catalysts. Here we report a strategy for stabilizing photoelectrochemical devices that use a polyacrylamide hydrogel as a highly permeable and transparent device-on-top protector. A hydrogel-protected Sb2Se3 photocathode exhibits stability over 100 h, maintaining ~70% of the initial photocurrent, and the degradation rate gradually decreases to the saturation level. The structural stability of a Pt/TiO2/Sb2Se3 photocathode remains unchanged beyond this duration, and effective bubble escape is ensured through the micro gas tunnel formed in the hydrogel to achieve a mechanically stable protector. We demonstrate the versatility of the device-on-top hydrogel protector under a wide electrolyte pH range and by using a SnS photocathode and a BiVO4 photoanode with ~500 h of lifetime.Photoelectrochemical devices for hydrogen production via water splitting often suffer from short lifetimes due to semiconductor photocorrosion and catalyst instability. Here the authors demonstrate a polyacrylamide hydrogel as a permeable and transparent protection layer to improve the stability of photoelectrodes.
ISSN:2058-7546
2058-7546
DOI:10.1038/s41560-022-01042-5