Water photoelectrolysis
has the potential to produce renewable
hydrogen fuel, therefore addressing the intermittent nature of sunlight.
Herein, a monolithic, photovoltaic (PV)-assisted water electrolysis
device of minimal engineering and of low (in the μg range) noble-metal-free
catalysts loading is presented for unassisted water splitting in alkaline
media. An efficient double perovskite cobaltite catalyst, originally
developed for high-temperature proton-conducting ceramic electrolyzers,
possesses high activity for the oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline
media at room temperatures too. Ba
1–
x
Gd
1–
y
La
x
+
y
Co
2
O
6−δ
(BGLC) is combined with a NiMo cathode, and a solar-to-hydrogen
efficiency of 6.6% in 1.0 M NaOH, under 1 sun simulated illumination
for 71 h, is demonstrated. This work highlights how readily available
earth-abundant materials and established PV methods can achieve high
performance and stable and monolithic photoelectrolysis devices with
potential for full-scale applications.
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