A New Si/TiO2/Pt p-n Junction Semiconductor to Demonstrate Photoelectrochemical CO2 Conversion

This work presents a new Si/TiO2/Pt p-n junction semiconductor prepared by sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), photolithography and lift-off techniques. XRD, EDS, FE-SEM, diffuse reflectance (DRS) and photocurrent vs potential curves had been used for semiconductor characterization. The mat...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Guaraldo, Thaís Tasso [UNESP], De Brito, Juliana Ferreira [UNESP], Wood, David, Zanoni, Maria Valnice Boldrin [UNESP]
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2015
País:Brasil
Recursos:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unesp.br:11449/177581
Acesso em linha:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2015.10.077
http://hdl.handle.net/11449/177581
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:CO2 reduction
heterojunction
photoelectrocatalysis
Si/TiO2/Pt
Descrição
Resumo:This work presents a new Si/TiO2/Pt p-n junction semiconductor prepared by sputtering, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), photolithography and lift-off techniques. XRD, EDS, FE-SEM, diffuse reflectance (DRS) and photocurrent vs potential curves had been used for semiconductor characterization. The material was designed for high porosity and uniformity of both TiO2 and Pt deposits; both TiO2 anatase phase formation and Pt presence were confirmed. This semiconductor has a characteristic of high light absorption in the ultraviolet and visible regions. A good photocurrent response for the cathodic region was obtained in a CO2 saturated solution (-1.0 mA under -0.8 V and UV-vis light), confirming electron-hole pair formation and CO2 electron scavenging. A small Si/TiO2/Pt electrode (1 × 1 cm) was employed in photoelectrocatalytic CO2 reduction, forming methanol (0.88 mmol L-1), ethanol (2.60 mmol L-1) and acetone (0.049 mmol L-1) as products reaching a Faradaic efficiency of 96.5%. These results had been obtained under the following optimal experimental conditions: 0.1 mol L-1 NaHCO3, pH 8 saturated with CO2, 125 W UV-vis irradiation (from 250 to 600 nm) and -0.8 V applied potential. Suitable charge transfer mechanisms in the electrode surface, and products formation after CO2 reduction, are proposed.