241 research outputs found
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Long-term stability studies of a semiconductor photoelectrode in three-electrode configuration
Improving the stability of semiconductor materials is one of the major challenges for sustainable and economic photoelectrochemical water splitting. N-terminated GaN nanostructures have emerged as a practical protective layer for conventional high efficiency but unstable Si and III-V photoelectrodes due to their near-perfect conduction band-alignment, which enables efficient extraction of photo-generated electrons, and N-terminated surfaces, which protects against chemical and photo-corrosion. Here, we demonstrate that Pt-decorated GaN nanostructures on an n+-p Si photocathode can exhibit an ultrahigh stability of 3000 h (i.e., over 500 days for usable sunlight ∼5.5 h per day) at a large photocurrent density (>35 mA cm-2) in three-electrode configuration under AM 1.5G one-sun illumination. The measured applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 11.9%, with an excellent onset potential of ∼0.56 V vs. RHE, is one of the highest values reported for a Si photocathode under AM 1.5G one-sun illumination. This study provides a paradigm shift for the design and development of semiconductor photoelectrodes for PEC water splitting: stability is no longer limited by the light absorber, but rather by co-catalyst particles
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Quench antenna for superconducting particle accelerator magnets
We report on the design, fabrication, and test of an assembly of stationary pickup coils which can be used to localize quench origins. After describing the pickup coils configuration, we develop a simple model of current redistribution which allows interpretation of the measured voltages and determination of the turn of the magnet coil in which the quench started. The technique is illustrated by analyzing the data from a quench of a 5-cm-aperture, 15-m-long SSC dipole magnet prototype
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