Photoelectrochemical behavior of hierarchically structured Si/WO 3 core-shell tandem photoanodes

Robert H. Coridan, Kevin A. Arpin, Bruce S. Brunschwig, Paul V. Braun, Nathan S. Lewis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

WO3 thin films have been deposited in a hierarchically structured core-shell morphology, with the cores consisting of an array of Si microwires and the shells consisting of a controlled morphology WO3 layer. Porosity was introduced into the WO3 outer shell by using a self-assembled microsphere colloidal crystal as a mask during the deposition of the WO3 shell. Compared to conformal, unstructured WO3 shells on Si microwires, the hierarchically structured core-shell photoanodes exhibited enhanced near-visible spectral response behavior, due to increased light absorption and reduced distances over which photogenerated carriers were collected. The use of structured substrates also improved the growth rate of microsphere-based colloidal crystals and suggests strategies for the use of colloidal materials in large-scale applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2310-2317
Number of pages8
JournalNano letters
Volume14
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 14 2014

Keywords

  • core-shell semiconductor
  • hierarchical structuring
  • Photoelectrochemical energy conversion
  • silicon
  • tandem semiconductor devices

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Bioengineering
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanical Engineering

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