Controllable fabrication of nanostructured materials for photoelectrochemical water splitting via atomic layer deposition

摘要: Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is an attractive approach to generate hydrogen as a clean chemical fuel from solar energy. But there remain many fundamental issues be solved, including inadequate photon absorption, short carrier diffusion length, surface recombination, vulnerability photo-corrosion, and unfavorable reaction kinetics. Owing its self-limiting mechanism, atomic layer deposition (ALD) capable of depositing thin films in highly controllable manner, which makes it enabling technique overcome some the key challenges confronted by PEC splitting. This tutorial review describes unique representative applications ALD fabricating high performance electrodes with various nanostructures, (i) coating conformal on three-dimensional scaffolds facilitate separation migration photocarriers enhance light trapping, well realizing doping for bandgap engineering forming homojunctions separation; (ii) achieving modification through anti-corrosion layers, state passivation catalytic layers; (iii) identifying main rate limiting steps model defined thickness, composition, interfacial structure.