A hole-selective hybrid TiO layer for stable and low-cost photoanodes in solar water oxidation.

The use of conductive and corrosion-resistant protective layers represents a key strategy for improving the durability of light absorber materials in photoelectrochemical water splitting. For high performance photoanodes such as Si, GaAs, and GaP, amorphous TiO protective overlayers, deposited by atomic layer deposition, are conductive for holes via a defect band in the TiO. However, when coated on simply prepared, low-cost photoanodes such as metal oxides, no charge transfer is observed through amorphous TiO.

Operation of Amorphous TiO-Protected Photocathodes Described with the Maxwell Equivalent Circuit.

The use of amorphous TiO (a-TiO), deposited by atomic layer deposition, is a common strategy to protect semiconductors from degradation when used in water-splitting photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a suitable technique to study these PEC cells because it is capable of deconvoluting multiple processes occurring during operation, therefore providing information about mechanisms leading to the overall device performance. When biased under hydrogen evolution conditions, EIS shows that two simultaneous processes occur in a-TiO-protected photocathodes, which introduces an ambiguity in choosing the correct equivalent circuit to describe the operating device.

One-Step Hydrothermal Synthesis of Sn-Doped SbSe for Solar Hydrogen Production.

Antimony selenide (SbSe) has recently been intensively investigated and has achieved significant advancement in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. In this work, a facile one-step hydrothermal method for the preparation of Sn-doped SbSe photocathodes with improved PEC performance was investigated. We present an in-depth study of the performance enhancement in Sn-doped SbSe photocathodes using capacitance-voltage (CV), drive-level capacitance profiling (DLCP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques.

Dual-function triazole-pyridine derivatives as inhibitors of metal-induced amyloid-β aggregation.

Dysregulated metal ions are hypothesized to play a role in the aggregation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, leading to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. In addition to direct effects on Aβ aggregation, both Cu and Fe can catalyze the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), possibly contributing to significant neuronal toxicity. Therefore, disruption of metal-Aβ interactions has become a viable strategy for AD therapeutic development.