This title appears in the Scientific Report :
2014
Please use the identifier:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/249317 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/8021 in citations.
Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production
Development of Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Tandem Junction Based Photocathodes Providing High Open-Circuit Voltages for Hydrogen Production
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/a-Si:H) have been developed with focus on high open-circuit voltages for the direct application as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. By temperature variation during deposition of the intrinsic a-Si:H abs...
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Personal Name(s): | Urbain, F. (Corresponding Author) |
---|---|
Wilken, K. / Smirnov, V. / Astakhov, O. / Lambertz, A. / Becker, J.-P. / Rau, U. / Ziegler, J. / Kaiser, B. / Jaegermann, W. / Finger, F. | |
Contributing Institute: |
Photovoltaik; IEK-5 |
Published in: | International journal of photoenergy, 2014 (2014) Article ID 249317, S. 1 - 10 |
Imprint: |
New York, NY [u.a.]
Hindawi Publ. Corp.
2014
|
DOI: |
10.1155/2014/249317 |
Document Type: |
Journal Article |
Research Program: |
Helmholtz Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training in Energy and Climate Research (HITEC) Thin Film Photovoltaics |
Link: |
OpenAccess |
Publikationsportal JuSER |
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/8021 in citations.
Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film tandem solar cells (a-Si:H/a-Si:H) have been developed with focus on high open-circuit voltages for the direct application as photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting devices. By temperature variation during deposition of the intrinsic a-Si:H absorber layers the band gap energy of a-Si:H absorber layers, correlating with the hydrogen content of the material, can be adjusted and combined in a way that a-Si:H/a-Si:H tandem solar cells provide open-circuit voltages up to 1.87 V. The applicability of the tandem solar cells as photocathodes was investigated in a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) measurement set-up. With platinum as a catalyst, the a-Si:H/a-Si:H based photocathodes exhibit a high photocurrent onset potential of 1.76 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a photocurrent of 5.3 mA/cm2 at 0 V versus RHE (under halogen lamp illumination). Our results provide evidence that a direct application of thin film silicon based photocathodes fulfills the main thermodynamic requirements to generate hydrogen. Furthermore, the presented approach may provide an efficient and low-cost route to solar hydrogen production. |