Accessing in Situ Photocorrosion Under Realistic Light Conditions
Authors: Jenewein Ken , Kormanyos Attila , Knöppel Julius , Mayrhofer Karl J. J. , Cherevko Serhiy 
Published: July 2022

High-impact photoelectrode materials for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting are distinguished by synergistically attaining high photoactivity and stability at the same time. With numerous efforts toward optimizing the activity, the bigger challenge of tailoring the durability of photoelectrodes to meet industrially relevant levels remains. In situ photostability measurements using flow cells hold great promise in understanding stability-related properties1-3 compared to traditional procedures, such as measuring the drop in photocurrent over time at 1.23 VRHE.

In this work, a photoelectrochemical scanning flow cell connected to an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (PEC-ICP-MS) and equipped with a solar simulator, Air Mass 1.5 G filter, and monochromator was developed (Figure 1A). The established system is capable of independently assessing basic PEC metrics, such as photopotential, photocurrent, incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE), and band gap in a high-throughput manner, as well as the in situ photocorrosion behavior of photoelectrodes under standardized and realistic light conditions by coupling it to an ICP-MS.4 In situ photocorrosion measurements conducted on spray-coated WO3 revealed that dissolution starts at 0.8 VRHE with the dissolution rate rapidly increasing past 1.2 VRHE, coinciding with the onset of the saturation photocurrent (Figure 1B). Wavelength-dependent photodegradation measurements show that WO3 only dissolved when irradiated with wavelengths lower than its band gap (Figure 1C). By using standardized illumination conditions such as AM 1.5 G under 1 Sun, the obtained dissolution characteristics are translatable to actual devices under realistic light conditions. The gained insights can then be utilized to advance synthesis and design approaches of novel PEC materials with improved photostability.

Another aspect of flow cell systems is that they are well suited for operation in a high-throughput manner. In fact, scanning droplet cells have been successfully employed for rapid (photo)electrochemical screening of (photo)electrocatalyst libraries.5, 6 In here, we demonstrate proof-of-concept approaches for a full automation of the presented system to establish a platform that is capable of not only performing complete sets of PEC measurements but at the same time assess the in situ photostability of a photoelectrode material library. Such a platform would enable material discovery, which is tailored to search not only for the most active but also for the most stable PEC material.

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Figure 1