Presenter(s): Adrian Gordon
Faculty Mentor(s): Shannon Boettcher
Oral Session 3 S
Solar water splitting using photoelectrochemical cells is a promising method for storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen bonds. Photoelectrochemical cells consist of two surfaces, the photocathode and photoanode, at which hydrogen and oxygen evolve from an electrolyte solution. Thin metal or metal-oxide electrocatalyst films are often deposited onto silicon based photoanodes in order to catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction and to protect the silicon from corrosion. Previous research has shown that thinner electrocatalyst films are correlated with more efficient photoanodes. However, the underlying physical processes driving this correlation remain unclear. This research uses an electrodeposition technique combined with cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy to gain a deeper understanding of the semiconductor-electrocatalyst interface on photoanodes.