Massive Onset Potential Shifting with an Epitaxial GaAs/Si Photocathode for Solar H2 Production
Authors: Le Hanh Vi , Piriyev Mekan , Febvre Sylvain , Loget Gabriel , Fabre Bruno , Harel Sylvie , Rockett Angus , Steirer Kenneth , Rohel Tony , Tavernier Karine , Le Pouliquen Julie , Largeau Ludovic , Patriarche Gilles , Bernard Rozenn , Leger Yoan , Bertru Nicolas , Cornet Charles 
Published: August 2024

Solar photoelectrochemical (PEC) H2 production has the potential to solve one of the biggest issues confronting humanity nowadays: producing inexpensive, clean and renewable energy. Among various semiconductor materials, GaAs is an excellent candidate for the development of photoelectrodes within PEC cells for unassisted solar water splitting thanks to its appropriate band gap, good transport and optical properties and high quantum yield. However, the main limitations of GaAs photoelectrodes are related to the high substrate cost, their huge overpotentials and the short lifetime under operation. To address these issues, in this work, we report on the photocathode performance of 1 µm-thick GaAs layers grown on a low-cost Si p-doped substrate by MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) and compare them to those of GaAs:p doped wafers . The photocathodes were investigated in 0.2 M H2SO4 (aq) electrolyte under 1 sun (100 mW/cm2) illumination. The onset potential (Vonset) of bare GaAs/Si and bare GaAs:p wafer is quite comparable, at around -0.2 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). The significant reduction of surface states density with a sulfur passivation (S-passivation) by immersing samples in (NH4)2S solution is demonstrated but with very limited changes on the Vonset value, for both GaAs:p wafer and GaAs/Si photocathodes. In contrast, the deposition of thin Pt catalyst layers on both photocathodes by electroless deposition technique leads to a large positive shift Vonset. The Vonset of GaAs/Si and GaAs:p wafer photocathodes are increased up to 0.34 and 0.15 V vs RHE respectively. We show that the Vonset of GaAs/Si can be even improved by combining the Pt catalyst and the S-passivation process, reaching 0.4 V vs RHE (Fig. 1), a record value for GaAs-based Schottky-like photocathodes.

STEM-EDX analysis was performed to investigate further the difference between Pt/GaAs/Si and Pt/GaAs:p wafer photocathodes. The EDX-line scans show that after the Pt electroless deposition, the Pt layer on GaAs:p wafer is homogeneous and shows an As0-rich Pt surface that can explain the weaker catalytic activity in comparison with GaAs/Si. Indeed, for the latter, Pt is deposited inhomogenously in the form of clusters leaving some bare surface. Here, As0 is expected to be more easily removed from the surface during the electroless deposition, resulting in more efficient catalyst properties of Pt. The morphology differences between the two Pt-coated electrodes are confirmed by XPS measurements. Since the process of electroless deposition strongly depends on the doping concentration of the materials deposited, the difference between GaAs:p wafer and GaAs/Si photocathodes is attributed to variations in their doping concentrations. Furthermore, the inhomogeneity of the Pt coating on GaAs/Si can also benefit to the passivation process by allowing the (NH4)2S solution to reduce more efficiently the surface defects at the oxide/semiconductor interface. Finally, the stability of Pt/GaAs/Si photocathodes was evaluated, and a lifetime larger than 112 h was established. These findings provide guidance for further studies towards the fabrication of scalable, cost-efficient and stable unassisted PEC cells for green hydrogen production. This research is supported by the “France 2030” French National Research Agency NAUTILUS Project (Grant no. ANR-22-PEHY-0013).

Figure 1