LIMNO invents a novel ambipolar photoelectrode for oxygen regulation
© 2016 EPFL/Sivula
Wiktor Bourée in our group discovers a simple method to create a tunable bipolar n-type/p-type photoelectrode using a simple solution-processing technique and demonstrates applications in chemical regulation and switchable logic devices.
Semiconductor systems capable of photoelectrochemical (PEC) switching between n-type and p-type operation provide a unique ability to transduce optoelectronic and chemical signals—forming the basis of novel approaches for information storage, sensing, energy conversion, and data processing. However, the development of simple and robust systems with demonstrable application remains a challenge. In this work W. Bourée in our labs reports the remarkably facile preparation of ambipolar photoelectrodes wherein size-tunable microdomains of nanostructured p-type CuFeO2 and n-type Fe2O3 arise from a single solution-processed thin film. We further establish that the switchable operation of this system can be controlled by chemical, optical, or electronic inputs (suitable for ternary logic gates) with uniquely high photocurrent response (on the order of 1 mA cm–2 under standard illumination conditions) and furthermore demonstrate practical application of the photoelectrode as an oxygen regulator that can both sense and directly adjust the concentration of dissolved O2 in aqueous electrolyte via modulation of the PEC oxygen reduction and PEC water oxidation reactions. The results are published in the journal Advanced Materials.