A General Concept for Solar Water‐Splitting Monolithic Photoelectrochemical Cells Based on Earth‐Abundant Materials and a Low‐Cost Photovoltaic Panel. (16th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kasemthaveechok, Sitthichok; Oh, Kiseok; Fabre, Bruno; Bergamini, Jean‐François; Mériadec, Cristelle; Ababou‐Girard, Soraya; Loget, Gabriel
• Is Part Of: Advanced sustainable systems. Volume 2:Number 11(2018)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2018-08-16
• Subjects: artificial photosynthesis -- nickel -- silicon -- water splitting; Sustainable living -- Periodicals; Sustainability -- Periodicals; Green technology -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 628
• DOI: 10.1002/adsu.201800075
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2366-7486

Abstract

Abstract: Like photosynthesis, where light is transformed into energy‐rich molecules, sunlight energy can be converted into H2 and O2 using water‐splitting photoelectrochemical cells (PECs). These systems are highly promising to produce H2 without carbon emissions, however, their fabrication is still based on expensive fabrication procedures and nonabundant materials, which prevents their manufacturing and study by many laboratories. Here, an original concept for preparing monolithic water‐splitting PECs based on the integration of a low‐cost Si photovoltaic (PV) panel with two Si‐based photoelectrodes fabricated by simple procedures and earth‐abundant materials is demonstrated. In contrast with previous approaches, in the present system, the PV solid junction and the two solid/liquid junctions participate in the creation of the effective photovoltage applied for water splitting. This simple device that can split water from various electrolytes for several hours should promote new advances in the field of solar fuels. Abstract : A robust general concept for monolithic photoelectrochemical cells is reported, which is employed to split water under solar irradiation without the application of an external bias. It allows preparing complete water splitting cells by simple means at a low cost. This design should lead to considerable improvements in the field of solar fuels.