SuSChEM: Engineering Local Conductivity in MIS Photoelectrodes for Solar-Powered Water Splitting

SuSChEM：用于太阳能水分解的 MIS 光电极的局部电导率工程

• 批准号: 1702944
• 负责人: Edward Yu
• 金额: $ 33万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-07-01 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1702944&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SuSChEM; Engineering; Local; Conductivity; MIS

Solar-powered production of hydrogen from water offers the potential to enable solar power, which is available on a transient basis, to be stored in the form of a chemical fuel. This capability would allow the energy to be stored temporarily, then deployed during times of high demand but relatively low availability of sunlight. In addition, conversion of solar energy into hydrogen fuel would help provide the foundation for a hydrogen-based transportation infrastructure incorporating fuel-cell vehicles. Efficient and cost-effective solar-powered production of hydrogen from water remains a scientific and technological challenge. This project will investigate concepts from the field of semiconductor electronics to enable new approaches to make efficient, low-cost photoelectrodes for splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using the energy in sunlight. Specifically, photoelectrodes will be designed with thick oxide layers that serve as a protective coating at the liquid water interface with the device. At a smaller scale in the photoelectrode, local regions that are electrically conductive will be designed to enable electrons to move easily between the semiconductor region where sunlight is absorbed and the aqueous solution in which the electrons help split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. For educational impacts, the project will introduce new components into an introductory-level course for freshman students in electrical engineering. These components will provide students with expertise required to design and to create physical prototypes of a wide range of engineered systems. By developing these capabilities at the outset of their university academic careers, students will be able to deploy them extensively throughout the remainder of their education.This project will seek to engineer localized electrical conduction paths across insulating oxide layers for efficient and stable Si-based metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) photoelectrodes for solar-driven water splitting. These investigations will build upon recent advances in the engineering of local conductivity via electrical breakdown in MIS devices that have enabled highly stable, Si-based MIS photocathodes and photoanodes. Three primary fundamental research directions will be pursued: (i) investigation of the influence of localized conduction paths between absorber and catalyst on photocurrent density, photovoltage and other aspects of MIS photoelectrode performance; (ii) engineering of a new, scalable approach, based on thin-film metallization reactions, for engineering and optimizing local conductivity across protective oxide layers for MIS photoelectrodes for water splitting; and (iii) characterization of spatial inhomogeneity in water splitting activity, and its relationship with material and device fabrication processes, using scanning electrochemical microscopy. Cross-fertilization spanning the disciplines of materials processing, electrochemistry, and solid-state device physics could enable increased impact of the technological infrastructure associated with silicon-based electronics and photovoltaics on solar fuel generation and the associated energy storage capability.

利用太阳能从水中生产氢气，有可能使太阳能以化学燃料的形式储存起来，而太阳能是短暂的。这种能力将允许能量暂时储存，然后在需求量高但阳光供应相对较低的时候部署。此外，将太阳能转化为氢燃料将有助于为采用燃料电池车辆的氢基运输基础设施奠定基础。高效和具有成本效益的太阳能从水中生产氢气仍然是一项科学和技术挑战。该项目将研究半导体电子领域的概念，以实现新的方法来制造高效，低成本的光电极，用于利用太阳光中的能量将水分子分解为氢和氧。具体来说，光电极将设计有厚氧化层，作为与设备的液态水界面处的保护涂层。在光电极的较小尺度上，导电的局部区域将被设计成使电子能够在吸收太阳光的半导体区域和电子帮助将水分子分解为氢和氧的水溶液之间容易地移动。对于教育影响，该项目将引入新的组件到电气工程新生的入门级课程。这些组件将为学生提供设计和创建各种工程系统的物理原型所需的专业知识。通过在大学学术生涯开始时开发这些能力，学生将能够在其剩余的教育中广泛部署它们。该项目将寻求设计跨绝缘氧化物层的局部导电路径，以实现高效稳定的硅基金属-绝缘体-半导体（MIS）光电极，用于太阳能驱动的水分解。这些调查将建立在最近的进展，在工程上的局部电导率通过电击穿MIS设备，使高度稳定，硅基MIS光电阴极和光电阳极。三个主要的基础研究方向将继续进行：（一）吸收剂和催化剂之间的局部传导路径的光电流密度，光电压和MIS光电极性能的其他方面的影响的调查;（二）工程的一个新的，可扩展的方法，基于薄膜金属化反应，工程和优化局部导电性的MIS光电极的保护氧化层的水裂解;和（iii）使用扫描电化学显微镜表征水裂解活性的空间不均匀性，及其与材料和器件制造工艺的关系。跨材料加工，电化学和固态器件物理学学科的交叉施肥可以增加与硅基电子和光电子学相关的技术基础设施对太阳能燃料发电和相关储能能力的影响。

项目成果

Electrodeposition of crystalline silicon films from silicon dioxide for low-cost photovoltaic applications

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13065-w
• 发表时间: 2019-12
• 期刊: Nature Communications
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: X. Zou;L. Ji;Jianbang Ge;D. Sadoway;E. Yu;A. Bard