Doctoral Dissertations

Ying-Chau Liu

Keywords and Phrases

Cobalt Oxy(Hydr)oxide; Energy Conversion And Storage; Oxygen Evolution Reaction Catalyst; Semiconductor; Solar Water Splitting; X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

"This dissertation investigates the electrodeposition of metal and metal oxide thin films applicable to solar water splitting cells. Paper I describes the synthesis of cobalt hydroxide, ß-Co(OH)2, by electrochemically reducing tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) in alkaline solution. Paper II presents a scheme to convert the ß-Co(OH)2 to CoOOH and Co3O4 and compares their catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction. Co3O4 appears to be a more active catalyst than CoOOH based on Tafel analysis. However, when the observed current densities are corrected for the measured electrochemically active surface area, the linear region of the two Tafel plots fell on the same line--suggesting the active species, likely Co(IV), for the oxygen evolution reaction is the same on both materials. Paper III introduces the fabrication of nanometer-thick gold on silicon as an inexpensive and convenient alternative to single crystal gold substrates. In addition to protecting the Si from corrosion, the Au buffer layer forms a Schottky junction with n-Si and exhibits electronic properties useful for photoelectrochemical cells"--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Switzer, Jay A., 1950-

Committee Member(s)

Leventis, Nicholas
Winiarz, Jeffrey G.
Nath, Manashi
Miller, F. Scott, 1956-

Department(s)

Chemistry

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Chemistry

Sponsor(s)

United States. Department of Energy

Comments

The funding for this work has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Science under Grant No. DE-FG02-08ER46518.

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Fall 2016

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Deposition of ß-Co(OH)2 films by electrochemical reduction of tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) in alkaline solution
  • Conversion of electrodeposited Co(OH)2 to CoOOH and Co3O4, and comparison of their catalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction
  • Nanometer-thick gold on silicon as a proxy for single-crystal gold for the electrodeposition of epitaxial cuprous oxide thin films

Pagination

xiii, 129 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references.

Rights

© 2016 Ying-Chau Liu, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Electroplating
Electrochemistry
Metals
Metallic oxides
Energy conversion
Energy storage

Thesis Number

T 11039

Electronic OCLC #

974710440

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