The Development of Stable Multi-Component Ag-Based Ag2znsn(S,Se) Photoanodes for the Solar-Driven Photoelectrochemical Salt-Water Splitting

The development of hydrogen energy and fuel cell related technology has been studied for several decades. The Paris Agreement, which was based on the decrease of the global warming effect caused by the utilization of carbon-based fuels, has been approved in 2015. In order to reach the goal set by Paris Agreement, the developments of the hydrogen and fuel cell related technologies become the interesting research fields. However, the major production method for the hydrogen production is the steam reforming of fossil fuels, which results in the greenhouse effect and climate change caused by the large-scale combustion of fossil fuels. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) reaction is the important research field in recent years. Converting sea-water into hydrogen and oxugen in a PEC cell under visible-light irradiation is the key factor for a large scale application of fuel cell related technology. However, the poor lifetimes and reaction activities of these multi-component metal sulphides/selenides photoelectrodes limit their possible industrial applications. The developments and preparations of photo-absorber materials, the optimization of post-sulfurization/selenization processes and the improvements of these photoelectrodes with high stability in electrolytes have to be taken into consideration. Therefore, we propose this project in order to investigate the reasons for poor stability of the multicomponent metal sulphides/selindes and their solid solution photoelectrodes by using the electrochemical impedance spectra analysis. The possible improvement methods for these poor stability photoelectrodes are also carried out in this project. This study includes the preparation of multi-components metal sulphodes/selenides photoelectrodes, the investigation of the influence of surface states and the reaction mechanisms taking places at the sample surfaces by using the electrochemical impedance spectra analysis, and the developments of the possible way to improve the long-term stability of these photoelectrodes in electrolytes. Finally, the photoelectrochemical response of samples in salt solution will be realized. This project is consisted of fundamental investigations of materials synthesis, theoretical analysis, and design of the photochemical modulus. We believe that our approach can be the cornerstone of developing high efficiency photochemical reactor for photoelectrochemical applications.

Project ID:PB10907-4041
External Project ID:MOST109-2221-E182-001