Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production on Textured Silicon Photocathode

Abstract

Wet chemical etching methods were utilized to conduct Si surface texturing, which could enhance photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation rate. Two different etching methods tested, which were anisotropic metal-catalyzed electroless etching and isotropic etching. The Si nano-texture that was fabricated by the anisotropic etching showed ~25% increase in photo-current for H2 generation. The photocurrent enhancement was attributed to the reduced reflec-tion loss at the nano-textured Si surface, which provided a layer of intermediate density between water and the Si substrate.