Hydrogel protection strategy to stabilize water-splitting photoelectrodes

Jeiwan Tan; Byungjun Kang; Kyungmin Kim; Donyoung Kang; Hyungsoo Lee; Sunihl Ma; Gyumin Jang; Hyungsuk Lee; Jooho Moon

doi:10.1038/s41560-022-01042-5

Hydrogel protection strategy to stabilize water-splitting photoelectrodes

Jeiwan Tan, Byungjun Kang, Kyungmin Kim, Donyoung Kang, Hyungsoo Lee, Sunihl Ma, Gyumin Jang, Hyungsuk Lee, Jooho Moon

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is an attractive solar-to-hydrogen pathway. However, the lifetime of photoelectrochemical devices is hampered by severe photocorrosion of semiconductors and instability of co-catalysts. Here we report a strategy for stabilizing photoelectrochemical devices that use a polyacrylamide hydrogel as a highly permeable and transparent device-on-top protector. A hydrogel-protected Sb₂Se₃ photocathode exhibits stability over 100 h, maintaining ~70% of the initial photocurrent, and the degradation rate gradually decreases to the saturation level. The structural stability of a Pt/TiO₂/Sb₂Se₃ photocathode remains unchanged beyond this duration, and effective bubble escape is ensured through the micro gas tunnel formed in the hydrogel to achieve a mechanically stable protector. We demonstrate the versatility of the device-on-top hydrogel protector under a wide electrolyte pH range and by using a SnS photocathode and a BiVO₄ photoanode with ~500 h of lifetime.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	537-547
Number of pages	11
Journal	Nature Energy
Volume	7
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01042-5
Publication status	Published - 2022 Jun

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea grant (numbers 2021R1A3B1068920 (J.M.), 2021M3H4A1A03049662 (J.M.), 2021R1A2C2009070 (Hyungsuk Lee) and 2021R1I1A1A01060058 (J.T.)), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT. This research was also supported by the Yonsei Signature Research Cluster Program of 2021 (2021–22-0002, J.M.). We thank M. Na for TEM analysis.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Fuel Technology
Energy Engineering and Power Technology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1038/s41560-022-01042-5

Cite this

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abstract = "Photoelectrochemical water splitting is an attractive solar-to-hydrogen pathway. However, the lifetime of photoelectrochemical devices is hampered by severe photocorrosion of semiconductors and instability of co-catalysts. Here we report a strategy for stabilizing photoelectrochemical devices that use a polyacrylamide hydrogel as a highly permeable and transparent device-on-top protector. A hydrogel-protected Sb2Se3 photocathode exhibits stability over 100 h, maintaining ~70% of the initial photocurrent, and the degradation rate gradually decreases to the saturation level. The structural stability of a Pt/TiO2/Sb2Se3 photocathode remains unchanged beyond this duration, and effective bubble escape is ensured through the micro gas tunnel formed in the hydrogel to achieve a mechanically stable protector. We demonstrate the versatility of the device-on-top hydrogel protector under a wide electrolyte pH range and by using a SnS photocathode and a BiVO4 photoanode with ~500 h of lifetime.",

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Hydrogel protection strategy to stabilize water-splitting photoelectrodes

Abstract

Bibliographical note

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

UN SDGs

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