Materials for direct solar-to-fuel energy conversion using semiconductor photoelectrochemistry Kevin Sivula Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering EPFL, Switzerland The development of robust and inexpensive semiconducting materials that operate at high efficiency in direct contact with aqueous electrolyte are needed to make the direct solar-to-fuel energy conversion by photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells economically viable. In this presentation the strategy of PEC and heterogeneous photocatalytic solar fuel production is introduced in a general way. Our laboratory’s progress in the development new light absorbing materials and co-catalysts will be discussed along with the application toward overall solar water splitting for H2 production. Specifically, this talk will highlight recent results with ternary oxides [1] , 2D transition metal dichalcogenides [2] and organic (pi-conjugated) semiconductors [3] as solution-processed photoelectrodes and nanoparticle photocatalysts. The concept of photoelectrode-membrane assembly devices for the direct reduction of water vapor is also introduced [4] . In these systems aspects of solar light harvesting, material nanostructure, electrocatalysis kinetics, and charge-carrier separation/transport are discussed. References 1. X. Zhu, N. Guijarro, Y. Liu, P. Schouwink, R. A. Wells, F. L. Formal, S. Sun, C. Gao, K. Sivula, Adv. Mater. 2018, 30, 1801612. 2. R. A. Wells, M. Zhang, T.-H. Chen, V. Boureau, M. Caretti, Y. Liu, J.-H. Yum, H. Johnson, S. Kinge, A. Radenovic, K. Sivula, ACS Nano 2022, 16, 5719. 3. H.-H. Cho, L. Yao, J.-H. Yum, Y. Liu, F. Boudoire, R. A. Wells, N. Guijarro, A. Sekar, K. Sivula, Nat. Catal. 2021, 4, 431. 4. M. Caretti, E. Mensi, R. Kessler, L. Lazouni, B. Goldman, L. Carbone, S. Nussbaum, R. A. Wells, H. Johnson, E. Rideau, J. Yum, K. Sivula, Adv. Mater. 2023, 2208740.
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