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Chemical and electronic structure analysis of a SrTiO3 (001)/p-Ge (001) hydrogen evolution photocathode

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2018

Kelsey A. Stoerzinger Open the ORCID record for Kelsey A. Stoerzinger [Opens in a new window] ,
Yingge Du ,
Steven R. Spurgeon ,
Le Wang ,
Demie Kepaptsoglou ,
Quentin M. Ramasse ,
Ethan J. Crumlin  and
Scott A. Chambers
Kelsey A. Stoerzinger*
Affiliation:
Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland WA 99352, USA
Yingge Du
Affiliation:
Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland WA 99352, USA
Steven R. Spurgeon
Affiliation:
Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland WA 99352, USA
Le Wang
Affiliation:
Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland WA 99352, USA
Demie Kepaptsoglou
Affiliation:
SuperSTEM, SciTech Daresbury Campus, Daresbury, WA44AD, UK Jeol Nanocentre, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR, UK Department of Physics, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5BR, UK
Quentin M. Ramasse
Affiliation:
SuperSTEM, SciTech Daresbury Campus, Daresbury, WA44AD, UK School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK School of Physics, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
Ethan J. Crumlin
Affiliation:
Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Scott A. Chambers*
Affiliation:
Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd, Richland WA 99352, USA
*
Address all correspondence to Kelsey A. Stoerzinger and Scott A. Chambers at kelsey.stoerzinger@pnnl.gov; sa.chambers@pnnl.gov
Address all correspondence to Kelsey A. Stoerzinger and Scott A. Chambers at kelsey.stoerzinger@pnnl.gov; sa.chambers@pnnl.gov
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Abstract

Germanium is a small-gap semiconductor that efficiently absorbs visible light, resulting in photoexcited electrons predicted to be sufficiently energetic to reduce H2O for H2 gas evolution. In order to protect the surface from corrosion and prevent surface charge recombination in contact with aqueous pH 7 electrolyte, we grew epitaxial SrTiO3 layers of different thicknesses on p-Ge (001) surfaces. Four-nanometer SrTiO3 allows photogenerated electrons to reach the surface and evolve H2 gas, while 13 nm SrTiO3 blocks these electrons. Ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the surface readily dissociates H2O to form OH species, which may impact surface band bending.

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Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 446 - 452
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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