Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SC3-O008 Invited Talk
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MODELING OF ARTIFICIAL
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Kirk Bevan 1
1 McGill University, Materials Engineering, Canada.
The rising global need for green carbon neutral fuels has driven a resurgence of
intense research into artificial photosynthesis. This talk presents an overview of
the role that semiconductor modeling can play in understanding and
engineering the operation of photocatalytic devices. Focusing on the
photoanode, we begin by exploring how the operation of semiconductor/oxide
based photocatalytic devices performing water splitting can be understood in a
similar framework to solid-state Schottky diodes. From this it is then
demonstrated how key quantities such as the photovoltage and photocurrent
can be modeled with appropriate boundary conditions. We will then briefly
explore the important role that carrier recombination and trap states play in the
operation and design of these devices. The aim of this methodology is to drive
the development of practical artificial photosynthesis systems through closer
coupling between device modeling and experimentation.
Acknowledgment:
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Keywords: Photocatalysis, Modeling, Theory
Presenting authors email: kirk.bevan@mcgill.ca