Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) Coatings Protect Underlying Silicon in Aqueous Acidic Media-Application to the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Silicon has potential application as a functional semiconductor electrode in proposed solar water splitting cells. It is abundant and has excellent photovoltaic attributes, however it is extremely susceptible to corrosion, even in the dark, resulting in the formation of an electrochemically passive oxide upon interaction with aqueous media. This work investigates the potential for conductive, inert and transparent boron doped diamond (BDD) coatings to protect p-type Silicon (p-Si). The stability and electrochemical performance of p-Si and p-Si|BDD were investigated using voltammetric techniques in 1 M H2SO4, before and after long-term exposure to the acidic medium (up to 280 hours) under no applied potential bias. Unprotected Si degraded very rapidly whilst BDD was shown to protect the underlying Si, as evident from I-V curves that indicated no increased resistance across the Si-diamond interface. Furthermore, BDD supported facile proton reduction at significantly lower onset potential for the hydrogen evolution reaction (up to -500 mV vs. SCE) compared with bare Si cathode (-850 mV vs. SCE). The activity of the BDD electrode/electrolyte interface was further improved by coating with platinum catalyst particles, to produce a p-Si|BDD|Pt strucure, which reduced the HER onset to nearly zero overpotential. Tafel analysis indicated that desirable electrochemical activity and stability were achieved for p-Si|BDD|Pt, making this a promising electrode for application in water splitting cells.