The photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most efficient ways to obtain hydrogen from water using solar power which can be used as carbon free fuel. The PEC device can bedesigned using semiconducting material that will convert solar radiation to H2. Silicon can be one of the best choices for PEC due to its success in solar cells technology. There are certain issues with Si such as stability in electrochemical medium [1] and higher surface reflectance (25%) which limits the Si as an ideal candidate for PEC technique [2]. In the present work we addressed these issues by surface structuring and laminating the surface with metal oxide. The microstructuring of Si was done by electrochemical method. The Si microstructure photocathode was stabilized by thin layer of ALD grown TiO2 film. The microstructuring and lamination of Si photocathode by ALD layer of TiO2 decreased the reflectance ofthe surface and shift the onset potential towards anodic direction by 350 mV with a prolonged stability over 60 hours[3]. [1] C. Levy-Clement, J. Electrochem. Soc 1991, 12, 69 [2] J. Oh, et al. Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 1690 [3] C. Das, et al. Nanoscale
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Atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 on CH3NH3PbI3 for enhancement of perovskite solar cells stability
(2016)
Engineering of Sub-Nanometer SiOₓ Thickness in Si Photocathodes for Optimized Open Circuit Potential
(2016)
Silicon is one of the most promising materials to be used for tandem-cell water-splitting devices. However, the electrochemical instability of bare Si makes it difficult to be used for stable devices. Besides that, the photovoltage loss in Si, caused by several factors (e.g., metal oxide protection layer and/or SiO₂/Si or catalyst/Si interface), limits its use in these devices. In this work, we present that an optimized open circuit potential (OCP) of Si can be obtained by controlling the SiOₓ thickness in sub-nanometer range. It can be done by means of a simple and cost-effective way using the combination of a wet chemical etching and the low temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) of TiO₂. We have found that a certain thickness of the native SiOₓ is necessary to prevent further oxidation of the Si photocathode during the ALD growth of TiO₂. Moreover, covering the Si photocathode with an ALD TiO₂ layer enhances its stability.
Over the past few years, a wide range of device architectures employing organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite absorbers has been reported, with efficiencies exceeding 20%. Despite the tremendous progress, a number of key issues must be resolved before the wide-spread com-
mercialization will be possible. Some of the primary challenges include lead toxicity, long-term stability, and fast degradation upon exposure to humid atmosphere. Recent computational and experimental studies suggest that hybrid metal-halide perovskites act as an ionic-electronic conductor. The study of vacancy-mediated migration of I−, Pb2+ and CH3NH3− ions and their relative activation energies suggests that migration of halide vacancies, to and from the interfaces in the solar cell during its operation, is the main conduction mechanism. In this work, we are presenting high resolution synchrotron-based spectroscopic study, which indicates that the contribution of nitrogen into the conduction mechanism of methyl ammonium lead iodide-based (CH3NH3PbI3) perovskite films should not be neglected. The N1s core level and resonant X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at the N1s-egde of the CH3NH3PbI3 films are discussed in detail.
Ytterbium (Yb3+) assisted porous poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite film comprising flexible ferroelectretic nanogenerator (FTNG) is highlighted where traditional poling treatment is completely avoided. The piezoelectric output of FTNG is realized by the co-operative activity of self-polarized -CH2/-CF2 dipoles with porous electret-like structure in the composite film. Owing to extraordinary ferroelectric and dielectric properties, FTNG is acting as a highly efficient mechanical energy harvester. It is capable to capture several forms of abundant mechanical energy arising from humanfinger movements, machine vibrations and sound waves. As a proof of concept, under compressive deformation, FTNG is enable to instantly powers up several consumer electronics and thus provides a promising strategy for achieving self-powered electronic devices.
In this work, solar cells with a freshly made CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite film showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.4 % whereas the one with 50 days aged perovskite film only 6.1 %. However, when the aged perovskite was covered with a layer of Al₂O₃ deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at room temperature (RT), the PCE value was clearly enhanced. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study showed that the ALD precursors are chemically active only at the perovskite surface and passivate it. Moreover, the RT-ALD-Al2O3-covered perovskite films showed enhanced ambient air stability.
Titanium oxide (TiO2) deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used as a protective layer in
photocatalytic water splitting system as well as a dielectric in resistive memory switching. The way
ALD is performed (thermally or plasma-assisted) may change the growth rate as well as the electronic properties of the deposited films. In the present work, the authors verify the influence of the ALD mode on functional parameters, by comparing the growth rate and electronic properties of
TiO2 films deposited by thermal (T-) and plasma-enhanced (PE-) ALD. The authors complete the
study with the electrical characterization of selected samples by means of capacitance–voltage and
current–voltage measurements. In all samples, the authors found a significant presence of Ti3+ states, with the lowest content in the PE-ALD grown TiO2 films. The observation of Ti3+ states
was accompanied by the presence of in-gap states above the valence band maximum. For films thinner than 10 nm, the authors found also a strong leakage current. Also in this case, the PE-ALD films showed the weakest leakage currents, showing a correlation between the presence of Ti3+ states and leakage current density.
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is one of the most emerging fields for green energy generation and storage. Here we show a study of microstructured Si covered by a TiO2 nano-layer. The microstructures are prepared by galvanostatic selective etching of Si. The TiO2 nano-layer was deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to protect the microstructured photocathode against corrosion. The obtained microstructured photocathode showed a shift in the onset potential of 400 mV towards the anodic direction compared to bare Si. The Si microstructures laminated with a nano-layer of TiO2 show stability over 60 hours of measurement.
Charakterisierung von TiO2-ALD-Schichten und deren Nutzung für die Passivierung von Si-Photokathoden
(2015)
Wir berichten zunächst über den Einfluss der Methode der Atomlagenabscheidung auf die TiO2-Schichteigenschaften. Insbesondere wird der Zusammenhang zwischen Ti3+- sowie Interbandzuständen mit elektrischen Kennlinien und deren Einfluss auf funktionale Schichteigenschaften diskutiert. Anschließend werden Mikrostrukturierung, Grenzflächen-Engineering und konforme Abscheidung einer TiO2-ALD-Schutzschicht effektiv zur Performance-Steigerung von p-Si-Photokathoden angewendet.
This thesis focuses on the deposition of thin TiO2 films on p-type Si using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique, on the study of the electronic proprieties of the grown films and on the electrochemical characterization of TiO2/Si photoelectrodes. The deposition parameters, electronic properties and electrochemical performance and stability of the TiO2/Si samples are correlated.
The ALD technique is used to deposit TiO2 with two different precursors namely Titanium isopropoxide and Titanium methoxide onto Si substrates. Laboratory as well as synchrotron based X-ray spectroscopy techniques are used to characterize these films. The growth quality of the TiO2 ALD films is determined by analyzing X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data in terms of stoichiometry, defect states and Ti3+:Ti4+ ratios. The ALD technique was modified with different heating arrangements to obtain various polymorphs of TiO2.
The ALD and anatase TiO2 films are characterized using synchrotron radiation to study their electronic properties and these films are compared with single crystal rutile TiO2. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (res-PES) measurements are performed with synchrotron radiation. XAS measurements are used to determine the polymorphs as well as the electronic structure of TiO2. Res-PES measurements are conducted at the O1s and Ti2p edges to study multiple hole Auger decay processes and polaronic and charge transfer states as well as to determine the electronic band gap of the TiO2 layers. One of the main findings of this thesis is the determination of the partial density of states (pDOS) of O and Ti in the conduction and valence band. The combination of the pDOS and the band edge positions obtained from res-PES measurements are used to calculate the charge neutrality level of the TiO2 polymorphs.
The photoelectrochemical measurements are conducted on bare-Si and TiO2/Si photoelectrodes. The electrochemical performance of these photoelectrodes is studied in electrolytes having pH values ranging from 1 to 13. The deposition of TiO2 on Si enhances the photoelectrochemical performance of the Si photoelectrode. The TiO2 increases the stability of the photoelectrode in all electrochemical media over 12 hours of experimental condition. Moreover, it is also observed that the TiO2/Si photoelectrode is less responsive to the pH value of the electrolyte. The electrochemical findings are explained on the basis of the electronic properties of the TiO2 layer. The electronic band gap obtained from spectroscopic measurement and the photoelectrochemical measurements are used to explain the performance and stability of the TiO2/Si photoelectrodes. The thesis also addresses the stability of Si microstructured photoelectrodes (SiMPs) prepared by an electrochemical method. The stability of the SiMPs deteriorates more rapidly than that one of the planar Si photoelectrode. However, using a protective ALD TiO2 layer on these SiMPs the overall performance is even more enhanced than on the TiO2/planar Si system.
Titanium dioxide is one of the metal oxides which have versatile application in different fields. The applications of TiO2 are in the field of cosmetics, electronics (memory resistive switching), dye, photonics and photocatalysis. In the present paper we study the resPES data of TiO2 films prepared by atomic layer deposition. The measurements are done in in-situ system at beam line U49/2-PGM2 in BESSY-II. The density of state in valence band and conduction band is obtained from the resonance photo electron spectroscopy (res-PES) of the O1s and the Ti2p edge. The data allow to determine the position of the VBM and CBM with respect to the Fermi energy. Also the existence of localized O2p and Ti2p derived states is deduced which appear in the gap. In addition we determine the charge neutrality level (CNL).The CNL is the position where the weight of the density of state from valence band and conduction band are equal. This is an important quantity for the discussion of interface properties.
We study the atomic layer deposition of TiO2 by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The Ti precursor, titanium isopropoxide, was used in combination with H2O on Si/SiO2 substrates that were heated at 200 °C. The low growth rate (0.15 Å/cycle) and the in situ characterization permitted to follow changes in the electronic structure of TiO2 in the sub-nanometer range, which are influenced by quantum size effects. The modified electronic properties may play an important role in charge carrier transport and separation, and increase the efficiency of energy conversion systems.
The electronic properties of hematite were investigated by means of synchrotron radiation photoemission (SR-PES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Hematite samples were exposed to trimethyl aluminum (TMA) pulses, a widely used Al-precursor for the atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3. SR-PES and XAS showed that the electronic properties of hematite were modified by the interaction with TMA. In particular, the hybridization of O 2p states with Fe 3d and Fe 4s4p changed upon TMA pulses due to electron inclusion as polarons. The change of hybridization correlates with an enhancement of the photocurrent density due to water oxidation for the hematite electrodes. Such an enhancement has been associated with an improvement in charge carrier transport. Our findings open new perspectives for the understanding and utilization of electrode modifications by very thin ALD films and show that the interactions between metal precursors and substrates seem to be important factors in defining their electronic and photoelectrocatalytic properties.
Catalytic water splitting to hydrogen and oxygen is considered as one of the convenient routes for the sustainable energy conversion. Bifunctional catalysts for the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are pivotal for the energy conversion and storage, and alternatively, the photochemical water oxidation in biomimetic fashion is also considered as the most useful way to convert solar energy into chemical energy. Here we present a facile solvothermal route to control the synthesis of amorphous and crystalline cobalt iron oxides by controlling the crystallinity of the materials with changing solvent and reaction time and further utilize these materials as multifunctional catalysts for the unification of photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation as well as for the oxygen reduction reaction. Notably, the amorphous cobalt iron oxide produces superior catalytic activity over the crystalline one under photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation and oxygen reduction conditions.
Among the various metal oxides TiO2 has been investigated because of its wide range of applications in various fields such as self-cleaning, photocatalysis, solar cell, water splitting, bio-implants. In order to increase its efficiency in water splitting and solar cell energy conversion, it is necessary to understand the crystal structure and electronic properties of thin films. Generally the process of synthesis may modify the electronic properties of TiO2. In the present work we show X-ray linear dichroism (XLD) measurements of TiO2 thin films of different polymorphs. Titania thin films were produced by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and were characterized in-situ with X-ray photoelectron and absorption spectroscopy at synchrotron radiation center BESSY-II. We found that that all titania phases show XLD at Ti-L and O-K edges, but the intensity of XLD is different for different phases. We discuss our data in terms of the partial density of states.
Silicon with a band gap of 1.1eV is an excellent candidate for visible photocatalytic water splitting. But p-type Si has a low quantum yield and are less efficient for water splitting [1]. It has been shown that preventing oxidation of Si surface can shift the onset potential for water reduction by about 300mV towards more positive [2]. We investigated in detail the influence of the SiO2 layer thickness on the onset potential for water splitting on Si photocathodes: we used p-type Si substrates covered with SiO2 layers of varying thickness. Then, we deposited a thin TiO2 film on using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to inhibit Si oxidation during the electrochemical experiment. In this way we could shift the onset potential up to 200mV, depending on the SiO2 thickness.
[1]E. L. Warren, S. W. Boettcher, M. G. Walter, H. A. Atwater, and N. S. Lewis: J. Phys. Chem. C 115 (2011) 594. [2]B. Seger, Anders B. Laursen, P. C. K. Vesborg, T. Pedersen, O. Hansen, S. Dahl, I. Chorkendorff, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 9128
Nanostructured iron(III) oxide deposits are grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at 400−500 °C on Si(100) substrates from
Fe(hfa)2TMEDA (hfa = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionate; TMEDA =
N,N,N′N′-tetramethylethylenediamine), yielding the selective formation of α-Fe2O3or the scarcely studiedε-Fe2O3 polymorphs under suitably optimized preparative conditions. By using Ti(OPr
i)4(OPri= iso-propoxy) and water asatomic layer deposition (ALD) precursors, we subsequently functionalized
the obtained materials at moderate temperatures (<300°C) by an ultrathin
titanomagnetite (Fe3−xTixO4) overlayer. An extensive multitechnique character-ization, aimed at elucidating the system structure, morphology, composition and
optical properties, evidenced that the photoactivated hydrophilic and photocatalytic behavior of the synthesized materials is dependent both on iron oxide phase composition and ALD surface modification. The proposed CVD/ALD hybrid synthetic approach candidates itself as a powerful tool for a variety of applications where semiconductor-based nanoarchitectures can benefit from the coupling with an ad hoc surface layer.
We prepare TiO₂film by ALD and study their electronic properties by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and photoelectron spectroscopy. We focus on XAS and X-ray linear dichroism to indentify band onset and learn about local distortion of the Ti–O octahedral atomic and about defects which cause Ti-based electronic states within the band gap.
Considering numerous applications such as transparent conducting oxides, gas sensors, photovoltaic applications, deep UV photo detectors, field effect transistors and spintronics gallium oxide (Ga2O3) has earned quite a lot of focus recently. Various techniques have already been demonstrated to produce Ga2O3 naming evaporation, sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, chemical vapor deposition and atomic layer deposition (ALD). Among them, ALD gives the possibility of controlling the thickness at the atomic level, good step coverage and delivers dense and homogeneous films. In this contribution, we report on the growth of ALD Ga2O3 using trimethylgallium (TMG) and H2O as metal and oxygen precursors, respectively. We deposited thin Ga2O3 films on Si, TiO2, Al2O3 and RuO2 over a temperature range of 150-300°C and characterized them by X-ray photo emission spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. From this study, we are able to discuss the influence of the temperature on the growth dynamics of Ga2O3 and its chemical composition.
Hydrogen fuel cells, being environmental friendly to produce energy, are a technology of future. One of the efficient ways to produce hydrogen is solar driven photocatalysis using semiconducting materials as photo electrodes. The choice of electrodes is a crucial factor and is done on the basis of photo corrosion stability, light absorption efficiency, and photocarrier lifetime. P-type Si can be used as photo cathode to produce H2 by direct photocatalysis. Si cathodes can be used in acidic electrolytes to have efficient photo catalytic activity but they are unstable in alkaline electrolytes. Therefore, to use both Si electrodes in the same electrolyte, their chemical stability should be extended over a wide range of pH. To this purpose we modified the surface of a p-type Si photocathode with very thin films of TiO2 grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD). We found that the modified Si cathode shows an increased photoresponse and a lower onset potential with respect to the pristine surface and an increased stability at various pH values.