Nanocrystal Engineering of Sputter-Grown CuO Photocathode for Visible-Light-Driven Electrochemical Water Splitting

Masudy‐Panah, Saeid; Moakhar, Roozbeh Siavash; Chua, Chin-Seng; Tan, Hui Ru; Wong, Ten It; Chi, Dongzhi; Dalapati, Goutam Kumar

doi:10.1021/acsami.5b09613

Cited by 169 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Sputter grown thin film has a huge potential for solar energy harvesting for a large scale deployment 45–49 . The structural quality, interfacial layer formation and chemical composition can be tuned in-situ during sputter deposition 50–53 . We believe that optimization of Mo content into the CZTS layer and control thickness of interfacial layer for thick CZTS layer can boost cell efficiency further.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells

Dalapati

Zhuk

Masudy‐Panah

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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We have investigated the impact of Cu2ZnSnS4-Molybdenum (Mo) interface quality on the performance of sputter-grown Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cell. Thin film CZTS was deposited by sputter deposition technique using stoichiometry quaternary CZTS target. Formation of molybdenum sulphide (MoSx) interfacial layer is observed in sputter grown CZTS films after sulphurization. Thickness of MoSx layer is found ~142 nm when CZTS layer (550 nm thick) is sulphurized at 600 °C. Thickness of MoSx layer significantly increased to ~240 nm in case of thicker CZTS layer (650 nm) under similar sulphurization condition. We also observe that high temperature (600 °C) annealing suppress the elemental impurities (Cu, Zn, Sn) at interfacial layer. The amount of out-diffused Mo significantly varies with the change in sulphurization temperature. The out-diffused Mo into CZTS layer and reconstructed interfacial layer remarkably decreases series resistance and increases shunt resistance of the solar cell. The overall efficiency of the solar cell is improved by nearly five times when 600 °C sulphurized CZTS layer is applied in place of 500 °C sulphurized layer. Molybdenum and sulphur diffusion reconstruct the interface layer during heat treatment and play the major role in charge carrier dynamics of a photovoltaic device.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells

Dalapati

Zhuk

Masudy‐Panah

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…As the copper oxides provide the suitable band gaps for single junction and tandem solar cells, it is worthwhile to find n-type materials with suitable band gap. Moreover, the sputter deposition technique is industry compatible and suitable for large scale deployment [60,61,62,63,64]. …”

Section: Cu4o3 Thin Film Heterojunction Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Status and Future Prospects of Copper Oxide Heterojunction Solar Cells

et al. 2016

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The current state of thin film heterojunction solar cells based on cuprous oxide (Cu2O), cupric oxide (CuO) and copper (III) oxide (Cu4O3) is reviewed. These p-type semiconducting oxides prepared by Cu oxidation, sputtering or electrochemical deposition are non-toxic, sustainable photovoltaic materials with application potential for solar electricity. However, defects at the copper oxide heterojunction and film quality are still major constraining factors for achieving high power conversion efficiency, η. Amongst the Cu2O heterojunction devices, a maximum η of 6.1% has been obtained by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of AlxGa1−xO onto thermal Cu2O doped with Na. The performance of CuO/n-Si heterojunction solar cells formed by magnetron sputtering of CuO is presently limited by both native oxide and Cu rich copper oxide layers at the heterointerface. These interfacial layers can be reduced by using a two-step sputtering process. A high η of 2.88% for CuO heterojunction solar cells has been achieved by incorporation of mixed phase CuO/Cu2O nanopowder. CuO/Cu2O heterojunction solar cells fabricated by electrodeposition and electrochemical doping has a maximum efficiency of 0.64% after surface defect passivation and annealing. Finally, early stage study of Cu4O3/GaN deposited on sapphire substrate has shown a photovoltaic effect and an η of ~10−2%.

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“…However, p‐type metal oxides are less studied for photocathode application. Copper oxide ideally fulfills the key requirements of photocatalyst; such as high optical absorption coefficient, earth abundant material, and can be easily processed for photocathode synthesis . Among different phases of copper oxides; cupric oxide (CuO) has relatively better photoconversion efficiency, however, it easily converts into cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) resulting in an unstable photocathode .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoengineered Advanced Materials for Enabling Hydrogen Economy: Functionalized Graphene–Incorporated Cupric Oxide Catalyst for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production

et al. 2020

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Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising candidate as a photocathode for visible‐light‐driven photo‐electrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, the stability of the CuO photocathode against photo‐corrosion is crucial for developing CuO‐based PEC cells. This study demonstrates a stable and efficient photocathode through the introduction of graphene into CuO film (CuO:G). The CuO:G composite electrodes are prepared using graphene‐incorporated CuO sol–gel solution via spin‐coating techniques. The graphene is modified with two different types of functional groups, such as amine (NH2) and carboxylic acid (COOH). The COOH‐functionalized graphene incorporation into CuO photocathode exhibits better stability and also improves the photocurrent generation compare to control CuO electrode. In addition, COOH‐functionalized graphene reduces the conversion of CuO phase into cuprous oxide (Cu2O) during photo‐electrochemical reaction due to effective charge transfer and leads to a more stable photocathode. The reduction of CuO to Cu2O phase is significantly lesser in CuO:G‐COOH as compared to CuO and CuO:G‐NH2 photocathodes. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by CuO, CuO:G‐NH2 and CuO:G‐COOH is also investigated. By integrating CuO:G‐COOH photocathode with a sol–gel‐deposited TiO2 protecting layer and Au–Pd nanostructure, stable and efficient photocathode are developed for solar hydrogen generation.

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Nanocrystal Engineering of Sputter-Grown CuO Photocathode for Visible-Light-Driven Electrochemical Water Splitting

Cited by 169 publications

References 54 publications

Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells

Impact of molybdenum out diffusion and interface quality on the performance of sputter grown CZTS based solar cells

Current Status and Future Prospects of Copper Oxide Heterojunction Solar Cells

Nanoengineered Advanced Materials for Enabling Hydrogen Economy: Functionalized Graphene–Incorporated Cupric Oxide Catalyst for Efficient Solar Hydrogen Production

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