An Approach to Ideal Semiconductor Electrodes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Reduction of Carbon Dioxide by Modification with Small Metal Particles

Photoelectrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) on p-type silicon (p-Si) electrodes modified with small metal (Cu, Ag, or Au) particles has been studied. The electrodes in CO2-saturated aqueous electrolyte under illumination produce methane, ethylene, carbon monoxide, etc., similar to the metal (Cu, Ag, or Au) electrodes, but at ca. 0.5 V more positive potentials than the corresponding metal electrodes, contrary to continuous-metal-coated p-Si electrodes. The results clearly show that the metal-particle-coated p-Si electrodes not only have high catalytic activity for electrode reactions but also generate high photovoltages and thus work as an ideal type semiconductor electrode. It is discussed that the CO2 photoreduction proceeds with an upward shift of the surface band energies of p-Si in order to get energy level matching between the semiconductor and solution reactants, though hydrogen photoevolution occurs without such an upward shift. It is also discussed that the control of surface structure on a nanometer-sized level, as well as on an atomic scale, is important for getting higher efficiencies.