Hydrogen-Treated Semiconductor Metal Oxides For Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Water Splitting

Background

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting for solar hydrogen production has attracted extensive interest in the past few decades. In PEC water splitting, hydrogen is produced from water using sunlight and specialized semiconductors called photoelectrochemical materials. Moreover, Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been extensively investigated as a photoanode for PEC water splitting. TiO₂ photoanodes provide favorable band-edge positions, strong optical absorption, superior chemical stability and photocorrosion resistance, and are low cost. However, reported photocurrent densities and photoconversion efficiencies of TiO₂ photoanodes are substantially lower than projected. UC Santa Cruz researchers have developed a strategy which demonstrates that hydrogen treatment can significantly enhance the photoconversion efficiency of TiO₂ materials by improving their donor density and electrical conductivity.

Technology Description

UCSC researchers have demonstrated that hydrogen treatment can be used to fundamentally improve the performance of TiO₂ materials as photoanodes for PEC water splitting. Hydrogen-treated TiO₂ nanomaterials, in particular rutile nanowire and anatase nanotubes, yield substantially increased photocurrent densities and the photocurrents saturate at a very low applied bias. These hydrogen-treated TiO₂ nanowires and nanotubes open up new opportunities in various areas, including PEC water splitting, dye-sensitized solar cells, and photocatalysis. By replacing TiO₂ with new hydrogen-treated TiO₂ materials, the efficiencies of these processes and subsequent devices increase significantly.

Applications

• PEC water splitting
• Dye-sensitized solar cells
• Photocatalysis

Advantages

• Substantially enhanced photocurrent densities
• Photocurrents saturated at a very low applied bias
• No greenhouse gas emissions

Intellectual Property Information