SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOCATALYST AND ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS DEVICE APPLYING THE SAME

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semiconductor photocatalyst that can efficiently absorb a larger quantity of luminous energy.SOLUTION: The semiconductor photocatalyst has a heterojunction configured by a tunnel diode composed of a p-type silicon layer 1 and an n-type 3C-SiC layer 2. By using materials having two different band gaps as well as using the silicon layer 1 as a material having a narrow band gap, the obtained photocatalyst can absorb a wide wavelength range of sun rays. By obtaining a band configuration that covers an oxidation potential of water and a hydrogen reduction potential, artificial photosynthesis with high efficiency can be achieved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1