Abstract
Inorganic semiconductors are promising materials for driving photoelectrochemical water-splitting reactions. However, there is not a single semiconductor material that can sustain the unassisted splitting of water into H2 and O2. Instead, we are developing a three part cell design where individual catalysts for water reduction and oxidation will be attached to the ends of a membrane. The job of splitting water is therefore divided into separate reduction and oxidation reactions, and each catalyst can be optimized independently for a single reaction. Silicon might be suitable to drive the water reduction. Inexpensive highly ordered Si wire arrays were grown on a single crystal wafer and transferred into a transparent, flexible polymer matrix. In this array, light would be absorbed along the longer axial dimension while the resulting electrons or holes would be collected along the much shorter radial dimension in a massively parallel array resembling carpet fibers on a microscale, hence the term "solar carpet". Tungsten oxide is a good candidate to drive the water oxidation. Self-organized porous tungsten oxide was successfully synthesized on the tungsten foil by anodization. This sponge-like structure absorbs light efficiently due to its high surface area; hence we called it "solar sponge".
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
| Volume | 7408 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
| Event | Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology IV - San Diego, CA, United States Duration: Aug 3 2009 → Aug 6 2009 |
Other
| Other | Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology IV |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| City | San Diego, CA |
| Period | 8/3/09 → 8/6/09 |
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Keywords
- Hydrogen production
- Membrane
- Semiconductor
- Silicon
- Solar cell
- Tungsten oxide
- Water splitting
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Applied Mathematics
- Computer Science Applications
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
Cite this
Silicon and tungsten oxide nanostructures for water splitting. / Gil, Karla R Reyes; Spurgeon, Joshua M.; Lewis, Nathan S.
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. Vol. 7408 2009. 74080S.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
}
TY - GEN
T1 - Silicon and tungsten oxide nanostructures for water splitting
AU - Gil, Karla R Reyes
AU - Spurgeon, Joshua M.
AU - Lewis, Nathan S
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Inorganic semiconductors are promising materials for driving photoelectrochemical water-splitting reactions. However, there is not a single semiconductor material that can sustain the unassisted splitting of water into H2 and O2. Instead, we are developing a three part cell design where individual catalysts for water reduction and oxidation will be attached to the ends of a membrane. The job of splitting water is therefore divided into separate reduction and oxidation reactions, and each catalyst can be optimized independently for a single reaction. Silicon might be suitable to drive the water reduction. Inexpensive highly ordered Si wire arrays were grown on a single crystal wafer and transferred into a transparent, flexible polymer matrix. In this array, light would be absorbed along the longer axial dimension while the resulting electrons or holes would be collected along the much shorter radial dimension in a massively parallel array resembling carpet fibers on a microscale, hence the term "solar carpet". Tungsten oxide is a good candidate to drive the water oxidation. Self-organized porous tungsten oxide was successfully synthesized on the tungsten foil by anodization. This sponge-like structure absorbs light efficiently due to its high surface area; hence we called it "solar sponge".
AB - Inorganic semiconductors are promising materials for driving photoelectrochemical water-splitting reactions. However, there is not a single semiconductor material that can sustain the unassisted splitting of water into H2 and O2. Instead, we are developing a three part cell design where individual catalysts for water reduction and oxidation will be attached to the ends of a membrane. The job of splitting water is therefore divided into separate reduction and oxidation reactions, and each catalyst can be optimized independently for a single reaction. Silicon might be suitable to drive the water reduction. Inexpensive highly ordered Si wire arrays were grown on a single crystal wafer and transferred into a transparent, flexible polymer matrix. In this array, light would be absorbed along the longer axial dimension while the resulting electrons or holes would be collected along the much shorter radial dimension in a massively parallel array resembling carpet fibers on a microscale, hence the term "solar carpet". Tungsten oxide is a good candidate to drive the water oxidation. Self-organized porous tungsten oxide was successfully synthesized on the tungsten foil by anodization. This sponge-like structure absorbs light efficiently due to its high surface area; hence we called it "solar sponge".
KW - Hydrogen production
KW - Membrane
KW - Semiconductor
KW - Silicon
KW - Solar cell
KW - Tungsten oxide
KW - Water splitting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77958123190&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77958123190&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/12.825545
DO - 10.1117/12.825545
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:77958123190
SN - 9780819476982
VL - 7408
BT - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
ER -