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The impact of boundary conditions on calculated photovoltages and photocurrents at photocatalytic interfaces

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Abstract

This work presents an in-depth study of how the choice of boundary conditions can impact upon the calculated photovoltage and photocurrent in photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. Utilizing a floating boundary condition for the electrostatic potential and pseudo-Schottky boundary conditions for the interracial electron/hole currents, we show simultaneous calculation of photovoltage and photocurrent. We also explore the significance of capturing the photovoltage, with proper boundary conditions, to accurately replicate practical photocurrent along with the realistic band alignments. Finally, our results decouple the interracial hole transfer from the recombination at the interface/space-charged region and suggest possible methods to engineer the mesoscopic transfer process at PEC electrodes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2B2, Quebec, Canada

    Asif Iqbal & Kirk H. Bevan

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  1. Asif Iqbal
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  2. Kirk H. Bevan
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Correspondence to Asif Iqbal or Kirk H. Bevan.

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Iqbal, A., Bevan, K.H. The impact of boundary conditions on calculated photovoltages and photocurrents at photocatalytic interfaces. MRS Communications 8, 466–473 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2018.42

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