Issue 2, 2015
From the journal:

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

Photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution of tapered silicon nanowires†

Xiaopeng Li,ab   Yanjun Xiao,c   Keya Zhou,c   Junna Wang,b   Stefan L. Schweizer,b   Alexander Sprafke,b   Jung-Ho Lee*c  and  Ralf B. Wehrspohn*bd  

* Corresponding authors

a Max-Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics, Weinberg 2, Halle D-06120, Germany

b Institute of Physics, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany

c Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan, Kyounggi 426-791, Korea
E-mail: jungho@hanyang.ac.kr

d Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM, Halle D-06120, Germany
E-mail: ralf.wehrspohn@iwmh.fraunhofer.de

Abstract

The origin of the photocurrent enhancement and the overpotential reduction in solar water splitting employing nanostructured silicon is still a matter of debate. A set of tapered Si nanowires (SiNWs) has been designed for clarifying the impact of nanostructured Si on the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) while precisely tailoring several interference factors such as surface area, light absorption and surface defect density. We find that defect passivation by KOH achieved by tapering is much more beneficial than the optical gain. Surfactant-mediated modification of SiNWs is capable of engineering the band structure. As a result, we suggest a guideline for nanostructured Si photoelectrodes optimized for the HER.

Graphical abstract: Photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution of tapered silicon nanowires

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C4CP04396K
Article type
Communication
Submitted
29 Sep 2014
Accepted
10 Nov 2014
First published
11 Nov 2014

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015,17, 800-804

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Photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution of tapered silicon nanowires

X. Li, Y. Xiao, K. Zhou, J. Wang, S. L. Schweizer, A. Sprafke, J. Lee and R. B. Wehrspohn, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 800 DOI: 10.1039/C4CP04396K

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