Metal chalcogenide thin film electrode, method for the production thereof and use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016305035-A1
Application number	US-201415101639-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 4, 2014
Priority date	Dec 4, 2013
Publication date	Oct 20, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a metal chalcogenide thin film electrode, comprising the steps:
(a) contacting a metal or metal oxide with an elementary halogen in a non-aqueous solvent, producing a metal halide compound in the solution, (b) applying a negative electric voltage to an electrically conducting or semiconducting substrate which is in contact with the solution from step (a), and (c) during and/or after step (b) contacting the substrate with an elementary chalcogen forming a metal chalcogenide layer on the substrate.

The invention also relates to a metal chalcogenide thin film electrode which can be produced by the method and its use as an anode for releasing oxygen during (photo)electrochemical water splitting.

First claim

1 . A method for producing a metal chalcogenide thin film electrode, comprising the steps:
(a) contacting a metal or metal oxide with an elementary halogen in a non-aqueous solvent, producing a metal halide compound in the solution, (b) applying a negative electric voltage to an electrically conducting or semiconducting substrate which is in contact with the solution from step (a), and (c) during and/or after step (b), contacting the substrate with an elementary chalcogen, forming a metal chalcogenide layer on the substrate.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal is able to form a metal halide compound in which the metal is present in the oxidation state +2 or higher.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein in step (b) the metal is deposited onto the substrate by reduction and because of the negative voltage the substrate is an electron transmitter during the reduction.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal comprises at least one transition metal.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the metal is a solid metal body.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elementary chalcogen is elementary oxygen, elementary sulphur or elementary selenium.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises an n-semiconductor material.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elementary halogen is iodine (I 2 ) or bromine (Br 2 ).

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the non-aqueous solvent is an organic solvent.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a proportion of water in the non-aqueous solvent is at most 0.2 wt. %.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein contacting the substrate with the chalcogen is performed by the presence of the chalcogen in the solution or by contacting the substrate with a chalcogen-containing atmosphere.

12 . The method according to claim 1 , comprising the step: (d) thermal after treatment of the substrate comprising the metal chalcogenide layer.

13 . A metal chalcogenide thin film electrode, comprising an electrically conducting or semiconducting substrate and a thin film of a metal chalcogenide compound deposited thereon, which is produced or producible according to the method of claim 1 .

14 . The metal chalcogenide thin film electrode according to claim 1 , wherein the metal chalcogenide layer comprises carbon or a carbon-containing compound.

15 . A method of using comprising the step of electrochemical water splitting for generating oxygen using the metal chalcogenide thin film electrode according to claim 13 as an electrode.

16 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the transition metal is selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt and nickel, or a mixture or alloy which comprises the latter or consists of the latter.

17 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the solid metal body is an industrial metal or scrap metal.

18 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the n-semiconductor material is selected from n-doped silicon and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO).

19 . The method according to claim 9 , wherein the organic solvent comprises a carbonyl group or cyanide group.

20 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the non-aqueous solvent is one of acetone and acetonitrile.

Assignees

• Univ Berlin Tech

Inventors

• Lublow Michael
• Fischer Anna
• Driess Matthias
• Schedel-Niedrig Thomas
• Luecke Marcel-Philip

Classifications

• C25D5/34

  Pretreatment of metallic surfaces to be electroplated · CPC title

• C25D5/50

  by heat-treatment · CPC title

• C25D5/003

  Electroplating using gases, e.g. pressure influence · CPC title

• C25D3/66

  from melts · CPC title

• C01G49/10

  Halides {(C01G49/0018 takes precedence)} · CPC title