@article{Zhao2018, 
author = {Jiheng Zhao and Thomas Mark Gill and Xiaolin Zheng},
title = {Enabling silicon photoanodes for efficient solar water splitting by electroless-deposited nickel},
year = {2018},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {11},
number = {6},
pages = {3499-3508},
keywords = {Ni deposition, electroless plating, Si photoanode, oxygen evolution reaction (OER), photoelectrochemical water splitting},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.1007/s12274-018-2038-4},
doi = {10.1007/s12274-018-2038-4},
abstract = {Enabling Si photoanodes for efficient solar water oxidation would facilitate the development of solar fuel conversion, but it is challenging owing to Si surface passivation via photo-induced corrosion in aqueous electrolytes. To overcome this challenge, most approaches have focused on improving the stability of Si by coating dense and thin protective layers using high vacuum-based techniques such as atomic layer deposition. However, these procedures are costly, making scalability for practical applications difficult. Herein, we report a modified electroless deposition (ELD) method to uniformly deposit protective and catalytic Ni films on Si wafers, resulting in efficient and stable Si photoanodes for solar water oxidation. The optimized Ni/n-Si photoanode achieves an onset potential of ~ 1.09 V vs. a reversible hydrogen electrode and a saturation current density of ~ 27.5 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5 G illumination at pH 14. The ELD method is additionally capable of Ni deposition on a 4-inch n-Si wafer, demonstrating the first 4-inch Si photoanode. The solar water oxidation of the ELD-Ni/n-Si photoanode can be further improved by surface texturing, built-in n–p junctions, or coupling with more efficient catalysts.}
}