A Novel Strategy for High Performance Cost-Competitive Solar Water Splitting Enabled with Integrated Bifacial GaAs Photoelectrodes

利用集成双面 GaAs 光电极实现高性能、具有成本竞争力的太阳能水分解的新策略

• 批准号: 1707169
• 负责人: Jayakanth Ravichandran
• 金额: $ 32.51万
• 依托单位: University of Southern California
• 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: 2017-08-01 至 2020-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1707169&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Novel; Strategy; Performance; Cost; Competitive

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. Efficient and cost-effective solar-powered production of hydrogen from water remains a scientific and technological challenge with issues of efficiency, cost, and materials durability. This project will investigate fundamental 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. Among materials systems considered, III-V compound semiconductors represent one of the most promising materials for high efficiency solar-driven water splitting due to excellent materials properties pertaining to their favorable interaction with sunlight and efficient photocarrier generation. This fundamental research project aims to develop a high performance, cost-competitive materials platform for III-V photoelectrodes that can address the technology challenges. The multidisciplinary themes of the research will be integrated with the PI's comprehensive teaching and outreach efforts including training for undergraduate and graduate student researchers with a special emphasis on broadening participation of students from underrepresented groups in STEM, as well as summer educational program for educationally-disadvantaged high school students. The scientific and engineering advances achieved in this project will contribute to the continuing efforts to make the technology of solar hydrogen generation cost-effective and therefore address the future energy demand of society. The goal of this research project is to explore novel strategies for III-V compound semiconductor photoelectrodes that can address fundamental challenges in cost and durability. The electrode design and fabrication strategies would relax the stringent materials requirements at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface in ways that provide unique pathways to improve their stability, while allowing substantial reduction in materials cost. To achieve this goal, the project will (1) research a novel materials platform of III-V photoelectrodes based on printed assemblies of ultrathin GaAs-based epitaxial materials, (2) study at a fundamental level the photoelectrochemical behaviors of integrated bifacial GaAs photoelectrodes in solar-driven water splitting at the semiconductor/electrolyte interface, (3) establish design criteria and fundamental understanding of charge separation and transport, electronic band configuration, and photonic enhanced light absorption, (4) explore novel passivation mechanisms using optically thick metals and metal oxides, and (5) investigate integration pathways to tandem systems for unassisted solar water splitting through strategic assemblies of interconnected GaAs photoelectrodes. The outcomes of the project will provide a firm foundation for fundamental understanding of photoelectrochemical water splitting processes with ultrathin GaAs nanomembrane photoelectrodes, and elucidate mechanisms of performance- and stability enhancements by synergistic contributions from specialized epitaxial design, nanoscale photon management, and bifacial electrode configuration. Techniques of transfer printing for deterministic materials assembly will expand materials options in the design of efficient solar water splitting systems but also provide diverse integration pathways for enhanced cost-effectiveness, system performance, and stability.

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。高效且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，涉及效率，成本和材料耐用性问题。该项目将研究半导体电子领域的基本概念，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。在所考虑的材料系统中，III-V族化合物半导体代表了用于高效太阳能驱动水分解的最有前途的材料之一，这是由于与它们与太阳光的有利相互作用和高效光生载流子产生有关的优异材料性质。该基础研究项目旨在为III-V光电极开发高性能，具有成本竞争力的材料平台，以应对技术挑战。该研究的多学科主题将与PI的综合教学和推广工作相结合，包括对本科生和研究生研究人员的培训，特别强调扩大STEM代表性不足群体的学生的参与，以及针对教育弱势高中生的暑期教育计划。该项目取得的科学和工程进展将有助于继续努力使太阳能制氢技术具有成本效益，从而满足社会未来的能源需求。 该研究项目的目标是探索III-V族化合物半导体光电极的新策略，以解决成本和耐用性方面的根本挑战。电极设计和制造策略将以提供独特的途径以提高其稳定性的方式放宽半导体/电解质界面处的严格材料要求，同时允许材料成本的大幅降低。为了实现这一目标，该项目将（1）研究基于GaAs基外延材料印刷组件的III-V光电极的新型材料平台，（2）在基础水平上研究集成双面GaAs光电极在太阳能驱动的半导体/电解质界面处的水裂解中的光电化学行为，（3）建立设计标准和对电荷分离和传输、电子能带结构和光子增强光吸收的基本理解，（4）使用光学厚金属和金属氧化物探索新的钝化机制，和（5）研究集成路径串联系统的独立太阳能水分解通过战略组件互连砷化镓光电极。该项目的成果将提供一个坚实的基础，基本了解光电化学水分解过程与砷化镓纳米膜光电极，并阐明性能和稳定性增强的机制，从专门的外延设计，纳米光子管理和双面电极配置的协同贡献。用于确定性材料组装的转印技术将扩大高效太阳能水分解系统设计中的材料选择，但也提供了多种集成途径，以提高成本效益，系统性能和稳定性。

项目成果

Plasmonically Enhanced Spectral Upconversion for Improved Performance of GaAs Solar Cells under Nonconcentrated Solar Illumination

• DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.8b01245
• 发表时间: 2018-10
• 期刊: ACS Photonics
• 影响因子: 7
• 作者: Huandong Chen;Sung‐Min Lee;Angelo Montenegro;Dongseok Kang;B. Gai;Haneol Lim;Chayan Dutta;Wanting He;M. Lee;A. Benderskii;Jongseung Yoon

Stretchable, skin-conformal microscale surface-emitting lasers with dynamically tunable spectral and directional selectivity

可拉伸、皮肤保形微型表面发射激光器，具有动态可调光谱和方向选择性

• DOI: 10.1063/1.5080947
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Applied Physics Letters
• 影响因子: 4
• 作者: Kang, Dongseok;Chen, Huandong;Yoon, Jongseung
• 通讯作者: Yoon, Jongseung

Printed assemblies of GaAs photoelectrodes with decoupled optical and reactive interfaces for unassisted solar water splitting

• DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2017.43
• 发表时间: 2017-05-01
• 期刊: NATURE ENERGY
• 影响因子: 56.7
• 作者: Kang, Dongseok;Young, James L.;Yoon, Jongseung
• 通讯作者: Yoon, Jongseung

High performance III-V photoelectrodes for solar water splitting via synergistically tailored structure and stoichiometry

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11351-1
• 发表时间: 2019-07-29
• 期刊: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: Lim, Haneol;Young, James L.;Yoon, Jongseung
• 通讯作者: Yoon, Jongseung