Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
A High-Performance Si-Based Photocathode Enhanced by Spatial Confinement Strategy for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen
Chunyuan Jia1, Xin Li1, Jinze Lyu2
1The Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biotechnology Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China.
Abstract:
Metallic materials (such as Ti, Pt, and Ag) modified on silicon-based photocathodes exhibit strong light reflection, which significantly hinders light absorption by the underlying silicon (Si), thereby limiting the efficiency of Si-based photocathodes. Herein, a high-performance Si-based photocathode is designed by spatial confinement strategy. The Pt cocatalysts are confined to the Ti protective layer at the top of the pyramid, which serve as catalytic active sites for the photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction. The other regions are covered by the SiO2 layer, which allow incident light to penetrate and be absorbed by the underlying Si. This design effectively suppresses parasitic light absorption, thereby enhancing the photoelectrochemical performance of the Si-based photocathodes. In addition, the SiO2 layer and the Ti layer can protect Si from being corroded by the electrolyte. Under 1 sun (AM 1.5G) illumination, the OP-Si/SiO2/Ti/Pt photocathode exhibits an onset potential of 0.415 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and a photocurrent density of -13.93 mA cm-2 at 0 V vs RHE, which is significantly superior to the control photocathode (OP-Si/Ti/Pt). This work provides a promising avenue to develop highly efficient Si-based photocathodes.
