Durable hydrogen evolution from water driven by sunlight using (Ag,Cu)GaSe2 photocathodes modified with CdS and CuGa3Se5

Li Zhang; Tsutomu Minegishi; Mamiko Nakabayashi; Yohichi Suzuki; Kazuhiko Seki; Naoya Shibata; Jun Kubota; Kazunari Domen

doi:10.1039/C4SC02346C

Durable hydrogen evolution from water driven by sunlight using (Ag,Cu)GaSe₂ photocathodes modified with CdS and CuGa₃Se₅†

Li Zhang,^a Tsutomu Minegishi,^a Mamiko Nakabayashi,^b Yohichi Suzuki,^c Kazuhiko Seki,^c Naoya Shibata,^b Jun Kubota^a and Kazunari Domen*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemical System Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
E-mail: domen@chemsys.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Fax: +81-3-5841-8838
Tel: +81-3-5841-1652

^b Institute of Engineering Innovation, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan

^c NRI, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), AIST Tsukuba Central 5, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan

Abstract

The photoelectrochemical properties of (Ag,Cu)GaSe₂ (ACGSe) modified by deposition of CdS and CuGa₃Se₅ layers were investigated. The CdS and CuGa₃Se₅ layers formed p–n junctions with an appropriate band diagram on the surface of the electrode and they clearly increased the cathodic photocurrent and onset potential. The Pt, CdS, and CuGa₃Se₅ modified ACGSe (Pt/CdS/CuGa₃Se₅/ACGSe) with an appropriate thickness of CuGa₃Se₅ layers (ca. 100 nm) showed a cathodic photocurrent of 8.79 mA cm⁻² at 0 V_RHE and an onset potential of 0.62 V_RHE (defined as cathodic photocurrent of 1.0 mA cm⁻²) under simulated sunlight irradiation in 0.1 M Na₂HPO₄ (pH 10). Pt/CdS/CuGa₃Se₅/ACGSe showed durable cathodic current under the observed reaction conditions and hydrogen was evolved for about 20 days.

This article is part of the themed collections: Global Energy Challenges: Hydrogen Energy and Global Energy Challenges: Energy Applications

Supplementary files

Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C4SC02346C
Article type: Edge Article
Submitted: 04 Aug 2014
Accepted: 03 Sep 2014
First published: 04 Sep 2014
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Download Citation

Chem. Sci., 2015,6, 894-901

Author version available

Download author version (PDF)

Permissions

Request permissions

Durable hydrogen evolution from water driven by sunlight using (Ag,Cu)GaSe₂ photocathodes modified with CdS and CuGa₃Se₅

L. Zhang, T. Minegishi, M. Nakabayashi, Y. Suzuki, K. Seki, N. Shibata, J. Kubota and K. Domen, Chem. Sci., 2015, 6, 894 DOI: 10.1039/C4SC02346C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Chemical Science