Wiley-VCH Verlag (Publisher)

Kaijian Zhu (Editor)
Mul, G. (Editor)
Huijser, A. (Editor in chief)

Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Publication Peer-review

Description

CuBO2: A Potential Alternative for NiO as a Hole Acceptor
Layer

Period	14 Sept 2023
Type of publisher	Publisher
Degree of Recognition	International

Keywords

dye-sensitized electrodes
solar energy
photo-electrochemistry
Co2-reduction

Documents & Links

Abstract P-type metal oxides, and in particular NiO, are typically used as hole accepting layers in dye-sensitized photocathodes. Delafossites (CuMO2) with M=B, Al, Cr or Ga have recently been proposed as attractive substitutes for NiO, with theoretically a higher hole mobility than NiO, therefore allowing a higher efficiency when the photocathode is applied in solar to fuel devices. We have experimentally validated the photoelectrochemical performance of photocathodes consisting of nanoporous CuBO2 (CBO) on Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide substrates, photosensitized with a light absorbing P1 dye. Femtosecond transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence studies show that light-induced hole injection occurs from the P1 dye into the CBO in a few ps, comparable to the time constant observed for NiO-based photocathodes. Importantly, the CBO-based photocathode shows significantly slower charge recombination than the NiO-based analogue. These results illustrate the promise of CBO as a p-type semiconductor in solar energy conversion devices.