Executive Summary : | Fabrication of p-n junction results in built-in electric field which can be an efficient tool to separate charge-carrier at the bulk as well as interface, which may further lead to improved PEC activity of the designed material. Till now, very few p-n junction photoelectrodes are explored in PEC water splitting reaction and the detail mechanism is needed to unveil. Mostly p-n junction electrodes are exposed in PV cell. Our aim is to utilize the in-built electric field of p-n junction in PEC water splitting to suppress the bulk recombination and increase the carrier lifetime. Nanomaterials will be explored as photoelectrodes in the proposed study. The interest in nanoscale materials as photoelectrodes arises from the fact that these particles display characteristic physical, chemical properties which are noticeably different from those of the corresponding bulk materials. For the application in photoelectrochemistry, it is important to have high solar light absorbance because efficiency of the material is dependent on the efficiency of absorbance, charge-carrier separation, and transportation. We propose evaluation of the photoactivity of various p-n junction in PEC water splitting reaction. The p-n junction not only facilitates the charge-carrier separation and transportation, it also helps to expand the light absorption range. Therefore, looking at the band alignment, it becomes more and more essential to develop different efficient p-n junctions of semiconductor composed of non-precious metals or earth-abundant elements with high efficiency and stability. In this given proposal, we are focused to develop a new route to enhance the PEC performance of a material. For that, we will synthesise different p-n-junctions on conducting substrate like FTO or ITO following chemical method. Further we will study the photoelectrochemical activity of all the n-p or p-n junction as cathode or anode depending on the material developed in solar water splitting reaction. Mainly, we will focus to understand the detail mechanism of p-n junction in PEC. Till now the obtained efficiency of the photoelectrodes is not up to the mark for practical applications. It is only because of the high charge-carrier recombination in bulk layer. This proposal mainly focused on development of efficient photoelectrodes based on p-n or n-p junction where built in electric field may efficiently separate the developed photogenerated charge-carriers. The development of p-n junction would benefit many researchers working in this area. After this proof-of-principle study, the investigator would also look for potential practical application. |