Photoelectrochemical

Energy Conversion
Energy Conversion
Bruce Parkinson
Department of Chemistry
School of Energy Resources
University of Wyoming

US-China Workshop on Nanostructured Materials for

Global Energy and Environmental Challenges
Issues for Advanced Solar Cells
Energy storage
Sun does not always shine
Need energy at night or for transportation
75% of current energy use is fuels
Scalability - even scaling current
technologies will not meet projected
power demands.
Higher efficiencies - 3rd generation cells
> Shockley-Queisser limit
Dramatically lower costs/watt
Nanostructuring can contribute to both
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 Our Energy Related
Research
Combinatorial search for oxide
semiconductors for efficient solar water
splitting. (DOE, NSF and Dreyfus)
Fundamental studies of sensitizer/oxide
semiconductor single crystal interface (DOE)
Understand Grätzel cell photoprocesses
Quantum dot sensitization
New materials for scalable thin film solar cells
Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZST) “forgiving material” containing
only earth abundant elements (CRSP)
 Characterization of electrocatalysts for water
oxidation and water reduction (NSF)
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A Potentially Efficient Configuration

Nanoparticle films
Separate hydrogen and oxygen compartments
Photons used more effectively
Materials for Photoelectrolysis
of Water Must:
 Have a band gap between 1.2 and 2.0 eV
 Be stable for many years under illumination in
aqueous electrolytes (oxide semiconductor)
 Have conduction band and valence band
positions that straddle water oxidation and
reduction potentials
 Have some catalytic activity for hydrogen or
oxygen evolution from water
 Be cheaper than a solid state solar cell
connected to an electrolyzer
 Millions of Possibilities Make a
Combinatorial Search Necessary
Must be simple, inexpensive and high throughput
 Our approach:

Ink jet print overlapping patterns of metal oxide
precursors
• Metal nitrate salts
• Sol gel chemistry, oxometallates, nanoparticles
 Use conductive glass as substrate - pyrolysis at ~500 °C

Screen by laser scanning in solution and look for
photocurrent generation:
• In acid, base and neutral electrolytes
• At positive and negative biases
• Stability with higher power and extended illumination
Wavelength and Bias Scans
+ 0.5 V Bias - 0.5 V Bias
Co, Fe
532 nm 532 nm
Cs, Al

633 nm 633 nm

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 “Distributed Screening”
Engage 1000s of Researchers
 Developinexpensive screening kits to distribute
to undergrad and high school students
 Students have their future at stake

Learn about the energy problem and chemistry
 Recruit labs to help with characterization of
promising compositions
 Progress so far:
 Lego Mindstorms® based scanning station

Created on-line data base and bulletin board
 Diode laser and USB powered electronics

11 “beta” test kits distributed
 Dreyfus and soon NSF funding