Matthias Richter, Michael F. Lichterman, Shu Hu, Ethan J. Crumlin, Stephanus Axnanda, Marco Favaro, Walter S. Drisdell, Zahid Hussain, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Zhi Liu, Nathan S. Lewis, Hans-Joachim Lewerenz
- The performance of a photoelectrochemical solar cell depends strongly on the electrochemical nature of the semiconductor/electrolyte junction [1]. Operando Ambient Pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
investigation of semiconductor/liquid junctions provides quantitative understanding of the energy bands in these photoelectrochemical solar cells [2, 3, 4]. We demonstrate how OAP-XPS may be used to determine these relationships for semiconductor/liquid systems. The data can be
analyzed to determine the energy relationship between the electronic energy bands in the semiconductor electrode and the redox levels in the solution. The major conditions for semiconductor-electrolyte contacts including accumulation, depletion, and Fermi-level pinning are observed, and the so-called flat-band energy can be determined. [1]
Science 344 (2014) 1005; [2] Sci Rep 5 (2015) 9788; [3] Ener Sci 8 (2015) 2409; [4] J Electrochem Soc 162 (2016) H1