The process involves using a light-sensitive semi-conducting material such as cuprous oxide to provide the current needed to fuel the reaction. Although it is not expensive, the oxide is unstable if exposed to light in water. Research by

Adriana Paracchino and Elijah Thimsen, published in the journal Nature Materials, demonstrates that this problem can be overcome by covering the semiconductor with a thin film of atoms using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique.

Under the supervision of Professor Michael Gratzel in EPFL's Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, the two scientists achieved this remarkable feat by combining techniques used at the industrial scale, and then applying them to the problem of producing hydrogen. With their process, cuprous oxide can be simply and effectively protected from contact with water, making it possible to use it as a semiconductor.

The advantages are numerous: cuprous oxide is abundantly available and inexpensive; the protective layer is completely impermeable, regardless of the roughness of the surface; and the process can easily be scaled up for industrial fabrication.

A promising technique
The research team developed the technique by "growing" layers of zinc oxide and titanium oxide, one atom-thick layer at a time, on the cuprous oxide surface. By using the ALD technique, they were able to control the thickness of the protective layer down to the precision of a single atom over the entire surface.

This level of precision guarantees the stability of the semiconductor while preserving all of its hydrogen-producing efficiency. The next step in the research will be to improve the electrical properties of the protective layer.

Using widely available materials and techniques that can be easily scaled up brings the "green" photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen closer to the industrial interest.

Source : Highly active oxide photocathode for photoelectrochemical water reduction, Adriana Paracchino, Vincent Laporte, Kevin Sivula, Michael Gratzel and Elijah Thimsen, Nature Materials, 8 mai 2011. DOI: 10.1038/NMAT3017

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