One-Compartment InGaN Nanowire Fuel Cell in the Light and Dark Operating Modes

Yongjie Chen; Hedong Chen; Jiaxun Song; Yingzhi Zhao; Lujia Rao; Guofu Zhou; Richard Nötzel

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c01844

One-Compartment InGaN Nanowire Fuel Cell in the Light and Dark Operating Modes

ACS Omega. 2021 Jul 1;6(27):17464-17471. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01844. eCollection 2021 Jul 13.

Authors

Yongjie Chen¹, Hedong Chen¹, Jiaxun Song¹, Yingzhi Zhao¹, Lujia Rao¹, Guofu Zhou^{1

2

3}, Richard Nötzel^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China.
² National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, People's Republic of China.
³ Academy of Shenzhen Guohua Optoelectronics, Shenzhen 518110, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

A one-compartment H₂O₂ photofuel cell (PFC) with a photoanode based on InGaN nanowires (NWs) is introduced for the first time. The electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic properties of the InGaN NWs are studied in detail by cyclic voltammetry, current versus time measurements, photovoltage measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In parallel, IrO _x (OH) _y as the co-catalyst on the InGaN NWs is evaluated to boost the catalytic activity in the dark and light. For the PFC, Ag is the best as the cathode among Ag, Pt, and glassy carbon. The PFC operates in the dark as a conventional fuel cell (FC) and under illumination with 25% increased electrical power generation at room temperature. Such dual operation is unique, combining FC and PFC technologies for the most flexible use.