Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical studies of zinc oxide materials for energy harvesting applications

Electrochemical and photoelectrochemical studies of zinc oxide materials for energy harvesting applications

Mitk’El B. Santiago Berríos, Anushka S. Agarwal, Suheily Alonso, Nicohl Cintrón, Ana G. Estrada, Dinorah Martinez, Alejandra Sanchez, Rahul Singhal, Carlos R. Cabrera and Héctor D. Abruña 

Transition metal oxides for example, Zinc oxide (ZnO), have attracted attention because they are easy to synthesize and has been used in different applications such as medicine, sensors, and solar energy harvesting applications, among others. ZnO is a semiconductor with a band gap of 3.37eV, which makes it an attractive material for the construction of solar cells, pH sensors, biosensors, etc. ZnO materials also have been shown potential as an alternative for different kind of solar cells and also for the oxygen reduction reaction for sensing and for fuel cell applications. Our group is focused on the electrochemical stability of ZnO materials in aqueous solution.  This presentation will show X-ray spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectra, Raman spectroscopy along with electrochemical and photo-electrochemical results to demonstrate ZnO stability for different applications. The presentation will also show future goals to implement these catalysts in different applications.