Probing fundamental losses in nanostructured Ta3N5 photoanodes: design principles for efficient water oxidation

Tantalum nitride (Ta3N5) is a visible-light-responsive semiconductor that may be capable of achieving the 10% solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency required to allow the commercialization of water splitting systems. However, despite immense research efforts, the highest STH efficiency yet reported for photoanodes based on Ta3N5-nanorods (NRs) is only 2.7%. Therefore, it is imperative to build a theoretical foundation that explains the various loss mechanisms and their correlations with structural and material properties, so as to optimize the performance of this material. The present work devised a detailed numerical model based on an in-depth analysis of the performance characteristics of photoanodes made from either Ba-doped or undoped Ta3N5-NRs. This experimentally calibrated optoelectrical modelling enabled predictions of various factors related to performance loss, including optical effects, charge carrier recombination and resistive loss. Certain physical parameters, such as charge carrier lifetime, diffusion length, hole extraction rate from the NR surfaces to the electrolyte and the series resistance of the photoanode, could also be calculated. The results show that the enhanced performance obtained with Ba doping can be primarily attributed to increases in the carrier lifetime and diffusion length. The present model was recalibrated using experimental data from the literature to examine hidden effects of the NRs’ dimensions on optical and recombination losses. On this basis, various design principles are presented herein that should allow the fabrication of efficient Ta3N5-NRs photoanodes for commercial STH production.