title: Photoelectrochemical and photovoltaic characteristics of amorphous-silicon-based tandem cells as photocathodes for water splitting.
abstract: In this study amorphous silicon tandem solar cells are successfully utilized as photoelectrodes in a photoelectrochemical cell for water electrolysis. The tandem cells are modified with various amounts of platinum and are combined with a ruthenium oxide counter electrode. In a two-electrode arrangement this system is capable of splitting water without external bias with a short-circuit current of 4.50 mA cm(-2). On the assumption that no faradaic losses occur, a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 5.54% is achieved. In order to identify the relevant loss processes, additional three-electrode measurements were performed for each involved half-cell.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Materialwissenschaften, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Jovanka-Bontschits-Str. 2, 64287 Darmstadt (Germany). jziegler@surface.tu-darmstadt.de.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jaegermann
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urbain
authors.forename: Jan-Philipp
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Smirnov
authors.forename: Friedhelm
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Finger
keywords: electrolysis; photoelectrochemistry; photovoltaics; solar cells; water splitting