# Synthesis of Well-Ordered Functionalized Silicon Microwires Using Displacement Talbot Lithography for Photocatalysis

## TL;DR

A new method for making ordered silicon microwires improves their performance in photocatalysis compared to traditional methods.

## Contribution

A synthesis method using displacement Talbot lithography to create ordered silicon microwires with enhanced photocatalytic performance.

## Key findings

- Functionalized periodic silicon microwires show 65% higher PEC performance.
- Net photocurrent is 2.3 mA/cm² higher at 0 V compared to randomly distributed microwires.

## Abstract

Metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) is a cheap and
scalable
method that is commonly used to obtain silicon nano- or microwires
but lacks spatial control. Herein, we present a synthesis method for
producing vertical and highly periodic silicon microwires, using displacement
Talbot lithography before wet etching with MACE. The functionalized
periodic silicon microwires show 65% higher PEC performance and 2.3
mA/cm2 higher net photocurrent at 0 V compared to functionalized,
randomly distributed microwires obtained by conventional MACE at the
same potentials.