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Passive Gate-Tunable Kinetic Photovoltage along Semiconductor-Water Interfaces
Jidong Li1, Han Sheng2, Yuyang Long2
1State Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Aerospace Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, and Institute for Frontier Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 29 Yudao Street, Qinhuai District, Nanjing, 210016, P. R. China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|March 30, 2023
Summary
Researchers demonstrate a transistor-inspired method to control kinetic photovoltage at semiconductor-water interfaces. This breakthrough enables tunable energy conversion and opens pathways for self-powered optoelectronic devices.
Area of Science:
- Solid-state physics
- Electrochemistry
- Materials science
Background:
- Moving electric double layers at solid-liquid interfaces can generate persistent energy.
- A kinetic photovoltaic effect arises from illumination changes at semiconductor-water interfaces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate transistor-inspired gate modulation of kinetic photovoltage.
- To explore electrical bias effects on semiconductor-water interfaces for energy conversion.
Main Methods:
- Applying bias at the semiconductor-water interface to modulate kinetic photovoltage.
- Utilizing a transistor-inspired architecture with a counter electrode for passive gate modulation.
- Testing both p-type and n-type silicon samples.
Main Results:
- Kinetic photovoltage in silicon samples was successfully switched on and off.
- Electrical-field-modulated surface band bending was identified as the mechanism.
- Passive gate modulation achieved a three-orders-of-magnitude control over kinetic photovoltage.
Conclusions:
- This method offers a novel approach for modulating kinetic photovoltage.
- The developed architecture enables self-powered optoelectronic logic devices.
- Passive gate modulation provides a new paradigm for energy conversion devices.
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