Eishi Tsutsumi

Transparent Aluminum Nanomesh Electrode Fabricated by Nanopatterning Using Self-Assembled Nanoparticles

A novel transparent aluminum nanomesh electrode with nanoapartures smaller than the wavelength of the light was proposed. Unlike conventional conducting oxides such as indium tin oxide, it has the potential to realize a rare-metal-free and low-resistivity transparent electrode. It was fabricated by nanopatterning with our embedded particle monolayer method, which enables the formation of a self-assembled particle monolayer over a large area, and its optical properties were investigated. As a result, the transmittance of the fabricated aluminum nanomesh electrode was found to be more than 55% at the peak wavelength when the opening ratio was 47%.

Crucial role of sustainable liquid junction potential for solar-to-carbon monoxide conversion by a photovoltaic photoelectrochemical system

Solar energy conversion to carbon monoxide (CO) is carried out using a wired photovoltaic photoelectrochemical (PV PEC) system under simulated solar light irradiation. The PV PEC system promotes CO generation from carbon dioxide and water with approximately 2.0% solar-to-CO conversion efficiency (ηCO) for 2 h. This is achieved via contributions from electrolyte conditions, which generate a sustainable liquid junction potential, in addition to the combination of efficient visible light absorption by a triple-junction amorphous silicon PV cell with high electrode activities with low overpotentials. Estimations of energy conversion efficiency based on the electrochemical properties of the PV cell and electrodes exhibit that the liquid junction potential makes a huge contribution to ηCO. Moreover, the liquid junction potential created by bubbling two kinds of carrier gases produces sustainable chemical bias. This system may contribute to new strategies for the development of sustainable artificial photosynthesis.