US scientists have used a silicon photoanode substrate to process cobalt metal thin films to form a cobalt-based water oxidation catalyst (Co–Pi).
The Co–Pi loaded electrodes show significant improvement (x 100) over bare silicon photoanodes. Integrating chemical electrocatalysts for water splitting and photoanode materials to achieve light assisted water oxidation for the generation of solar fuels is a longstanding challenge.
The team’s results demonstrate the importance of material selection and device engineering to harness the solar spectrum towards catalytic chemical fuel production. The robust and abundant silicon electrode and direct processing of the cobalt metal produce an improved light assisted water oxidation device.
Reference:
Photo-assisted water oxidation with cobalt-based catalyst formed from thin-film cobalt metal on silicon photoanodes
Elizabeth R. Young, Ronny Costi, Sarah Paydavosi, Daniel G. Nocera and Vladimir Bulović
Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01209F
