Electrolyte Engineering Stabilizes Photoanodes Decorated with Molecular Catalysts

Molecular catalysts are promising oxygen evolution promoters in conjunction with photoanodes for solar water splitting. Maintaining the stability of both photoabsorber and cocatalyst is still a prime challenge, with many efforts tackling this issue through sophisticated material designs. Such approa...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jenewein, Ken, Wang, Yuanxing, Liu, Tianying, McDonald, Tara, Zlatar, Matej, Kulyk, Nadiia, Benavente Llorente, Victoria, Kormányos, Attila, Wang, Dunwei, Cherevko, Serhiy
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/226552
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/226552
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS
OPERANDO DISSOLUTION
PHOTOELECTROCHEMISTRY
STABILITY
WATER SPLITTING
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.4
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:Molecular catalysts are promising oxygen evolution promoters in conjunction with photoanodes for solar water splitting. Maintaining the stability of both photoabsorber and cocatalyst is still a prime challenge, with many efforts tackling this issue through sophisticated material designs. Such approaches often mask the importance of the electrode-electrolyte interface and overlook easily tunable system parameters, such as the electrolyte environment, to improve efficiency. We provide a systematic study on the activity-stability relationship of a prominent Fe2O3 photoanode modified with Ir molecular catalysts using in situ mass spectroscopy. After gaining detailed insights into the dissolution behavior of the Ir cocatalyst, a comprehensive pH study is conducted to probe the impact of the electrolyte on the performance. An inverse trend in Fe and Ir stability is found, with the best activity-stability synergy obtained at pH 9.7. The results bring awareness to the overall photostability and electrolyte engineering when advancing catalysts for solar water splitting.