Transparent diamond-based electrolyzer for integration with solar cell

Abstract

In this study a concept of an electrolyzer operating in rather aggressive solutions (and potentially salt water) and with the potential of monolithic integration with a solar cell structure has been presented. The electrolyzer structure is based on a metal dot modified CVD diamond electrode structure grown by HFCVD, a technique which can be scaled to large surface areas. Presently, only the III-Nitride semiconductor materials system seems compatible with the growth conditions required for high-quality NCD electrode material. However, here the incorporation of low bandgap InGaN quantum well structures would be needed, but is still outstanding.