(Invited) Nanostructured Photoelectrochemical Electrodes and Electrocatalysts for Efficient Solar Energy Conversion

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising technique to directly convert solar energy into hydrogen energy for storage and transportation. PEC devices need to efficiently absorb sunlight and separate and collect the photocarriers. Herein we will present our recent work on the development of photonic structures for light trapping, PEC electrodes and electrocatalysts for water splitting. The importance of understanding both the light harvesting and the charge collection characteristics will be highlighted for the light trapping structural design. For electrocatalysts, we will focus on two-dimensional (2D) materials, and combine experimental and theoretical techniques to reveal the importance of the specific nanostructures for hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in electrolytes of different pH values. Our overall goal is to develop cost-efficient and robust photocatalysts and electrocatalyst to efficiently convert the abundant solar energy to clean, storable and transportable chemical fuels.