Atomic-Scale Tuning of Graphene/Cubic SiC Schottky Junction for Stable Low-Bias Photoelectrochemical Solar-to-Fuel Conversion
Hao Li, Yuchen Shi, Huan Shang, Weimin Wang, Jun Lu, Alexei Zakharov, Lars Hultman, R. I. G. Uhrberg, Mikael Syväjärvi, Rositsa Yakimova, Lizhi Zhang, Jianwu Sun
Abstract
epitaxial growth of high-quality and uniform graphene on cubic SiC (3C-SiC). By tailoring the graphene layers, the junction structure described herein exhibits an atomic-scale tunable Schottky junction with an inherent built-in electric field, making it a perfect prototype to systematically comprehend interfacial electronic properties and transport mechanisms. As a proof-of-concept study, the atomic-scale-tuned Schottky junction is demonstrated to promote both the separation and transport of charge carriers in a typical photoelectrochemical system for solar-to-fuel conversion under low bias. Simultaneously, the as-grown monolayer graphene with an extremely high conductivity protects the surface of 3C-SiC from photocorrosion and energetically delivers charge carriers to the loaded cocatalyst, achieving a synergetic enhancement of the catalytic stability and efficiency.