Charge Separation, Band-Bending, and Recombination in WO3 PhotoanodesClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Sacha CorbySacha CorbyDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Sacha Corby
- Ernest PastorErnest PastorDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Ernest Pastor
- Yifan DongYifan DongDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Yifan Dong
- Xijia ZhengXijia ZhengDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Xijia Zheng
- Laia FrancàsLaia FrancàsDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Laia Francàs
- Michael SachsMichael SachsDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Michael Sachs
- Shababa SelimShababa SelimDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Shababa Selim
- Andreas KafizasAndreas KafizasDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomGrantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, United KingdomMore by Andreas Kafizas
- Artem A. BakulinArtem A. BakulinDepartment of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by Artem A. Bakulin
- James R. Durrant*James R. Durrant*E-mail: [email protected]Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, United KingdomMore by James R. Durrant
Abstract

In metal oxide-based photoelectrochemical devices, the spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes is typically attributed to band-bending at the oxide/electrolyte interface. However, direct evidence of such band-bending impacting upon charge carrier lifetimes has been very limited to date. Herein we use ultrafast spectroscopy to track the rapid relaxation of holes in the space-charge layer and their recombination with trapped electrons in WO3 photoanodes. We observe that applied bias can significantly increase carrier lifetimes on all time scales from picoseconds to seconds and attribute this to enhanced band-bending correlated with changes in oxygen vacancy state occupancy. We show that analogous enhancements in carrier lifetimes can be obtained by changes in electrolyte composition, even in the absence of applied bias, highlighting routes to improve photoconversion yields/performance, through changes in band-bending. This study thus demonstrates the direct connection between carrier lifetime enhancement, increased band-bending, and oxygen vacancy defect state occupancy.
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