Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T12:55:49.527Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Research Highlights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Working Group on Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2011

Eric L. Miller ,
Roxanne Garland  and
Sara Dillich
Eric L. Miller
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Program
Roxanne Garland
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Program
Sara Dillich
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Program
Get access

Abstract

The US Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen production research and development portfolio focuses on low-cost, highly efficient and environmentally friendly production technologies based on diverse, domestic resources. Within the DOE, work on hydrogen production technologies integrates basic and applied research, as well as technology development and demonstration. The integration of basic and applied research is of particular importance in “transformational” production technologies, such as photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production, where scientific advances are needed for achieving the long-term DOE performance and cost targets. In the case of renewable hydrogen production via PEC solar water splitting, high solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency has been demonstrated to date on the laboratory scale, but only with high-cost, low-durability material systems. In order to identify and develop the appropriate high-efficiency, low-cost, durable and scalable PEC material systems, research and development efforts in the DOE EERE (Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) Office have keyed in on specific focus areas, including: 1) the engineering of solar energy absorption properties in PEC semiconductor materials, such as the bandgap lowering in stable metal oxides as well as bandgap raising in nanostructured sulfide catalysts; 2) the engineering of PEC solid-liquid interfaces for optimal reaction rates and stability, such as surface nitrogenation in III-V semiconductor systems; 3) the standardization of PEC measurement and reporting methodologies, using national and international peer-review process, for facilitating research progress; and 4) the design and analysis of integrated PEC device and system configurations for scalable hydrogen production. As described in this presentation, all of these research and development areas rely heavily on collaborative efforts among academia, industry and national laboratory partners, utilizing state of the art resources in materials theory, synthesis, characterization and analysis. The collaboration extends nationally among research programs supported by the DOE EERE as well as Office of Science; and internationally via networking through the International Energy Agency’s Hydrogen Implementation Agreement Annex-26. Key and encouraging accomplishments resulting from the collaborative work are highlighted in this presentation.

Keywords

energy generationphotochemicalsemiconducting
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1326: Symposium F – Renewable Fuels and Nanotechnology , 2011 , mrss11-1326-f01-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Rifkin, J., The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of The Worldwide Energy Web and The Redistribution of Power On Earth. JP Tarcher/Putnam: New York, 2002.Google Scholar
2. Fujishima, A., Honda, K., Electrochemical Photolysis of Water at a Semiconductor Electrode, Nature 238: 37–38 (1972).10.1038/238037a0Google Scholar
3. Rocheleau, R., Miller, E. L., Photoelectrochemical Production of Hydrogen: Engineering Loss Analysis, International Journal Hydrogen Energy 22: 771–782 (1997).10.1016/S0360-3199(96)00221-2Google Scholar
4. DOE EERE Fuel Cells Technologies Program: Multi-Year Research, Development and Demonstration Plan: Planned Program Activities for 2005–2015. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/mypp/ (2009).Google Scholar
5. Khaselev, O., Turner, J. A., A monolithic photovoltaic photoelectrochemical device for hydrogen production via water splitting, Science 280: 425–427 (1998).10.1126/science.280.5362.425Google Scholar
6. Khaselev, O., Bansal, A., Turner, J.A., High-efficiency integrated multijunction photovoltaic/electrolysis systems for hydrogen production, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 26: 127–132 (2001).10.1016/S0360-3199(00)00039-2Google Scholar
7. Graetzel, M., Photoelectrochemical cells, Nature 414: 338–344 (2001).10.1038/35104607Google Scholar
8. Miller, E. L, Marsen, B., Cole, B., Lum, M., Low-temperature reactively sputtered tungsten oxide films for solar-powered water splitting applications, Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters 9(7): G248–G250 (2006).10.1149/1.2201994Google Scholar
9. Kaneshiro, J., Miller, E. L., Gaillard, N. and Rocheleau, R., Advances in copper chalcopyrite thin films for solar energy conversion, Sol. Energy Mater. and Sol. Cells, 94: 12–16 (2010).10.1016/j.solmat.2009.03.032Google Scholar
10. Zhu, F., Hu, J., Matulionis, I., Deutsch, T., Gaillard, N., Miller, E. L., and Madan, A., Book chapter: “Solar Energy”: “Amorphous Silicon Carbide Photoelectrode for Hydrogen Production from Water using Sunlight”, edited by: Rugescu, Radu D., ISBN 978-953-307-052-0, pp. 432, 01 2010, INTECH.Google Scholar
11. Deutsch, T., Semiconductor Photoelectrodes for Direct Water Splitting, Pacifichem 2010 Congress, Honolulu, HI. December 15–20, 2010.Google Scholar
12. Turner, J. A. and Deutsch, T., Semiconductor Materials for Photoelectrolysis, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
13.. Wood, B.C., Ogitsu, T., and Schwegler, E., Ab-initio modeling of water-semiconductor interfaces for direct solar-to-chemical energy conversion, Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology V, SPIE Proceedings 7770, 77700E (2010).10.1117/12.860770Google Scholar
14. Wood, B.C., Ogitsu, T., and Schwegler, E., Ab-initio modeling of water-semiconductor interfaces for photocatalytic water splitting: The role of surface oxygen and hydroxyl, submitted for publication 2011.Google Scholar
15. Ogitsu, T., Characterization and Optimization of Photoelectrode Surfaces for Solar-to-chemical Fuel Conversion, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
16. Heske, C., Bär, M., andWeinhardt, L., Soft x-ray spectroscopy of materials for photoelectrochemical devices, Pacifichem 2010 Congress, Honolulu, HI. December 15–20, 2010.Google Scholar
17. Heske, C., Characterization of Materials for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
18. Repins, I., Contreras, M. A., Egaas, B., DeHart, C., Scharf, J., Perkins, C. L., To, B., Noufi, R., 19.9%-efficient ZnO/CdS/CuInGaSe2 solar cell with 81.2% fill factor, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 16: 235 (2008).Google Scholar
19. Bär, M., Weinhardt, L., Pookpanratana, S., Heske, C., Nishiwaki, S., Shafarman, W., Fuchs, O., Blum, M., Yang, W., and Denlinger, J.D., Depth-dependent band gap energies in Cu(In, Ga)(S, Se)2 thin films, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93: 244103 (2008).10.1063/1.3046780Google Scholar
20. Bär, M., Bohne, W., Röhrich, J., Strub, E., Lindner, S., Lux-Steiner, M.C., and Fischer, Ch.-H., Determination of the band gap depth profile of the penternary Cu(In(1-X)GaX)(SYSe(1-Y))2 chalcopyrite from its composition gradient, Appl. Phys. 96: 3857 (2004).10.1063/1.1786340Google Scholar
21. Bär, M., Weinhardt, L., Heske, C., Nishiwaki, S., and Shafarman, W., Chemical structures of the Cu(In, Ga)Se2/Mo and Cu(In, Ga)(S, Se)2/Mo interfaces, Phys. Rev. B 78: 075404 (2008).10.1103/PhysRevB.78.075404Google Scholar
22. Marsen, B., Cole, B., Miller, E. L., Photoelectrolysis of water using thin copper gallium diselenide electrodes, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 92: 1054– 1058 (2008).10.1016/j.solmat.2008.03.009Google Scholar
23. Kaneshiro, J., US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
24. Hu, J., Zhu, F., Matulionis, I., Kunrath, A., Deutch, T., Kuritzky, L., Miller, E., and Madan, A., “ Solar-to-Hydrogen Photovoltaic/Photoelectrochemical Devices Using Amorphous Silicon Carbide as the Photoelectrode”, 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, Valencia, Spain, 1–5 September, 2008.Google Scholar
25. Matulionis, I., Zhu, F., Hu, J., Gallon, J., Kunrath, A., Miller, E., Marsen, B., and Madan, A., Development of a Corrosion-Resistant Amorphous Silicon Carbide Photoelectrode for Solar-to-Hydrogen Photovoltaic/Photoelectrochemical Devices, SPIE Solar Energy and Hydrogen 2008, San Diego, USA, 10–14 August 2008.Google Scholar
26. Zhu, F., Hu, J., Kunrath, A., Matulionis, I., Marsen, B., Cole, B., Miller, E., and Madan, A., a-SiC: H Films used as Photoelectrodes in a Hybrid, Thin-film Silicon Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Cell for Progress Toward 10% Solar-to Hydrogen Efficiency, SPIE Solar Hydrogen and Nanotechnology 2007, San Diego, USA, 26–30 August 2007.Google Scholar
27. Stavrides, A., Kunrath, A., Hu, J., Treglio, R., Feldman, A., Marsen, B., Cole, B., Miller, E., and Madan, A., Use of amorphous silicon tandem junction solar cells for hydrogen production in a photoelectrochemical cell, SPIE Optics & Photons 2006, San Diego, USA, 13–17 August 2006.Google Scholar
28. Yae, S., Kobayashi, T., Abe, M., Nasu, N., Fukumuro, N., Ogawa, S., Yoshida, N., Nonomura, S., Nakato, Y., and Matsuda, H., Solar to chemical conversion using metal nanoparticle modified microcrystalline silicon thin film photoelectrode, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 91: 224–229 (2007).10.1016/j.solmat.2006.08.010Google Scholar
29. Sebastian, P.J., Mathews, N.R., Mathew, X., Pattabi, M., and Turner, J., Photoelectrochemical characterization of SiC, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 26: 123–125 (2001).10.1016/S0360-3199(00)00047-1Google Scholar
30. Madan, A., Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
31. Jaramillo, T. F., Jørgensen, K. P., Bonde, J, Nielsen, J. H., Horch, S., and Chorkendorff, I., Identifying the active site: Atomic-scale imaging and ambient reactivity of MoS2 nanocatalysts, Science 317: 100 – 102 (2007).10.1126/science.1141483Google Scholar
32. Jaramillo, T. F., 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN. Nanostructured MoS2 for the Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Production of Hydrogen, 11, 2009.Google Scholar
33. Jaramillo, T. F., Nano-architectures for 3rd generation PEC devices: A study of MoS2, fundamental investigations and applied research, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar
34. www2.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pec_standards_review.html#standards Google Scholar
35. Chen, Z., Jaramillo, T. F., Deutsch, T. G., Kleiman-Shwarsctein, A., Forman, A., Gaillard, N., Garland, R., Takanabe, K., Heske, C., Sunkara, M., McFarland, E. W., Domen, K., Miller, E. L., Turner, J. A., Dinh, H. N., Accelerating materials development for photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production: Standards for methods, definitions, and reporting protocols, Journal of Materials Research 25: 3–16 (2010).10.1557/JMR.2010.0020Google Scholar
36. James., B.D, Baum, G.N., Perez, J., Baum, K.N, Technoeconomic Analysis of Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Hydrogen Production. Directed Technologies, Inc. https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/pec_technoeconomic_analysis.pdf (2009).Google Scholar
37. Gaillard, N., Cole, B., Marsen, B., Kaneshiro, J., Miller, E.L., Weinhardt, L., Bär, M., Heske, C., Ahn, K.-S., Yan, Y., and Al-Jassim, M. M., Improved current collection in WO3:Mo/WO3 bilayer photoelectrodes, J. Mater. Res. 25: 45 (2010).10.1557/JMR.2010.0019Google Scholar
38. Marsen, B., Cole, B., Miller, E. L., Progress in sputtered tungsten trioxide for photoelectrode applications, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 32: 3110–3115 (2007).10.1016/j.ijhydene.2006.01.022Google Scholar
39. Cole, B., Marsen, B., Miller, E. L., Yan, Y., To, B., Jones, K., and Al-Jassim, M. M., Evaluation of nitrogen doping of tungsten oxide for photoelectrochemical water splitting, J. Phys. Chem. C 112: 5213–5220 (2008).10.1021/jp077624cGoogle Scholar
40. Hu, Y.-S., Kleiman-Shwarsctein, A., Forman., A. J., Hazen, D., Park, J.-N., and McFarland, E. W., Pt-doped α-Fe2O3 thin films active for photoelectrochemical water splitting, Chem. Mater. 20(12): 3803–3805 (2008).10.1021/cm800144qGoogle Scholar
41. Kleiman-Shwarsctein, A., Hu, Y.-S., Forman, A. J., Stucky, G. D., and McFarland, E. W., Electrodeposition of α-Fe2O3 doped with Mo or Cr as photoanodes for photocatalytic water splitting, J. Phys. Chem. C 112 (40): 15900–15907 (2008).Google Scholar
42. Ingler, W. Jr., Naseem, A. RF sputter deposition of Indium Oxide / Indium Iron Oxide thin films for photoelectrochemical hydrogen production, 2009 MRS Spring Meeting Symposium S Proceedings, Vol. 1171E, San Francisco, CA 2009.Google Scholar
43. Xu, L., Critical Research for Cost-Effective Photoelectrochemical Production of Hydrogen, US D.O.E. Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review Meeting 2011, Arlington, VA, May 9–13, 2011.Google Scholar