Flat-Band Potential of a Semiconductor: Using the Mott–Schottky Equation

Semiconductors are an important category of materials involved in many applications in modern society. One such application revolves around the search for efficient sustainable forms of energy, in this case the use of semiconductors to assist in the conversion of light to electrical energy. Related to a semiconductor's behavior in such an application is its flat-band potential. In this article we have described an experiment suitable for fourth-year undergraduate or graduate students that involves determination of the flat-band potential of a semiconductor using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the Mott–Schottky equation, which relates semiconductor–electrolyte interfacial capacitance to…