Term | Value | Language |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.advisor | Boettcher, Shannon | |
dc.contributor.author | Laskowski, Forrest | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-02-27T21:17:31Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-02-27 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/25208 | |
dc.description.abstract | Photoelectrochemical energy conversion is a promising method to harvest incident sunlight and convert/store the energy in stable hydrogen gas bonds. The process is reliant on coupling between a light-absorbing semiconductor and an electrocatalyst responsible for enhancing the oxygen/hydrogen evolution reaction. However, photoelectrochemical energy storage remains inefficient, in part because the semiconductor|catalyst interface is not well understood. Attaining a clearer understanding of the interface is critically important because it is responsible for separation and collection of photogenerated charge. In the following dissertation the behavior of the semiconductor|catalyst interface is experimentally and theoretically analyzed. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to two experimental techniques which facilitate interfacial understanding: dual-working-electrode photoelectrochemistry and potential sensing electrochemical atomic force microscopy. These techniques enable direct observation of potential and current transport across the semiconductor|catalyst interface during device operation. Chapter 2 applies these techniques to examine two common electrochemical experimental methods. The results suggest that analyzing the semiconductor|catalyst interface with the two methods is more challenging than previously appreciated. Chapter 3 presents an analytical model describing charge transport across the semiconductor|catalyst interface. In Chapter 4 the experimental techniques from Chapter 1 are applied to analyze the semiconductor|catalyst behavior of two model systems with interfacial heterogeneity. The anomalously good performance of some devices is attributed to an increase in interfacial selectivity caused by the “pinch-off” effect. This work builds upon and improves understanding of the semiconductor|catalyst interface in photoelectrochemical devices. The dissertation contains previously published and un-published co-authored materials. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | |
dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
dc.subject | Electrochemistry | en_US |
dc.subject | Interface | en_US |
dc.subject | OER | en_US |
dc.subject | Photoanode | en_US |
dc.subject | Photoelectrochemistry | en_US |
dc.title | Semiconductor | Catalyst Interfaces in Photoelectrochemical Devices: Charge Transport Theory, Experimental Technique Development, and Nanoscale Applications | |
dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
dc.description.embargo | 2020-04-16 | |
thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. | |
thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
thesis.degree.discipline | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry | |
thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon |