Development of Three-dimensional WO3Nanostructured Anodes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Applications

In recent decades, as the depletion of fossil fuels has become more severe, scientists are extensively exploiting renewable energy resources. Among many alternatives, solar production of hydrogen through the photolysis of water is considered as one of the cleanest and inexhaustible fuel for future; but at the same time, the photon-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency is still limited by several material issues including the development of efficient and economical photoelectrodes. In this proposal, we will emphasize on vertically aligned crystalline three-dimensional WO3 nanowire arrays grown on conducting transparent substrates, with the aim to achieve highly-efficient and cost-effective nanowire based photoanodes exhibiting excellent capture of the visible light and high stability against photocorrosion. Ultimately, we will extend this preliminary work to establish high-performance photoelectochemical cells for the hydrogen production.