Journal
ACS NANO
Volume 4, Issue 10, Pages 5869-5876Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/nn101980x
Keywords
silicon nanowire arrays; ionic liquid electrolyte; photoelectrochemical cell; surface derivation
Categories
Funding
- National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) [2010CB934502]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [60976050]
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Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells based on silicon nanowire arrays (SiNWs) have, to date, exhibited modest power conversion efficiency (PCE) and suffered serious degradation, though they exhibit advantageous properties of charge-transfer/transport properties at the radial-junction and strong light-trap capabilities. The main challenge for this low-cost PEC cell is the surface photooxidation and photocorrosion of the silicon surface when contacting with the electrolyte. In this report, SiNWs derivatized with covalently attached methyl groups, prepared via a two-step chlorination/methylation procedure, demonstrate excellent stability even in the presence of water. Furthermore, SiNWs PEC cells utilizing a room temperature ion liquid (IL) acting as an electrolyte solvent display neglectable surface oxidation. A PEC cell based on a platinum (Pt) nanodots decorated and methylated (-CH3) SiNWs electrode in combination with an IL electrolyte yields a PCE of 6.0% and shows excellent stability under simulated air mass (AM) 1.5 solar spectrum irradiation, while the PCE of a PEC cell based on planar silicon only exhibits 0.003%. The inherent performance of these structures indicates that a -CH3 (Pt) SiNWs electrode in combination with an IL is a new approach to develop a high-performance and low-cost solar cell.
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