Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 32: Poster Session II

CPP 32.31: Poster

Thursday, March 20, 2025, 09:30–12:00, P3

Investigation of photoelectrochemically induced degradation of III-V nanowires — •Chris Y. Bohlemann, Juliane Koch, David Ostheimer, Peter Kleinschmidt, and Thomas Hannappel — Technische Universität Ilmenau, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Fundamentals of Energy Materials, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 5, 98693 Ilmenau

Over the past two decades, nanoscale structures like III-V nanowires (NWs) have become versatile components in electronic and photonic applications [1]. The large surface-to-volume ratio of NWs enhances reaction efficiency by providing more active sites for light-driven processes. To explore NWs' potential in photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion, we investigated their optoelectronic behavior. First, GaAs NWs were grown via Vapor-Liquid-Solid growth mode using Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy. We performed Linear Sweep Voltammetry measurements where the III-V sample was brought into direct contact with the electrolyte. However, a major challenge is the degradation in performance due to the limited durability of NWs in electrolytes compared to planar surfaces. To evaluate the corrosion of NWs in electrolytes, we analyzed the NW structures before and after two hours of stability testing measurements by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Our results indicate that under continuous illumination no significant degradation besides surface roughening is observed while samples under chopped illumination, are nearly completely etched, with few or no NWs remaining intact.

[1] J. Koch et al., Adv. Mater. Interfaces 9, 2200948, 2022.

Keywords: Nanowires; Photoelectrochemistry; Watersplitting; Secondery Electron Micoscropy; MOVPE