High-performance and stable photoelectrochemical water splitting cell with organic-photoactive-layer-based photoanode.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33139804.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-19329-0 and PMC identifier 7606446.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Considering their superior charge-transfer characteristics, easy tenability of energy levels, and low production cost, organic semiconductors are ideal for photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production. However, organic-semiconductor-based photoelectrodes have not been extensively explored for PEC water-splitting because of their low stability in water. Herein, we report high-performance and stable organic-semiconductors photoanodes consisting of p-type polymers and n-type non-fullerene materials, which is passivated using nickel foils, GaIn eutectic, and layered double hydroxides as model materials. We achieve a photocurrent density of 15.1 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at 1.23 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) with an onset potential of 0.55 V vs. RHE and a record high half-cell solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 4.33% under AM 1.5 G solar simulated light. After conducting the stability test at 1.3 V vs. RHE for 10 h, 90% of the initial photocurrent density are retained, whereas the photoactive layer without passivation lost its activity within a few minutes.