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The photogalvanic cells (PG) are the promising and renewable electrochemical energy devices capable of doing the simultaneous solar power generation and storage. To realize the aim of the practical application of the PG cells in daily life, the electrical output of these cells has to be further enhanced to a level at least comparable to that of the photovoltaic cells. The present study of the PG cells based on so far unexplored Congo red dye-formaldehyde as a photosensitizer-reductant couple along with efficiency enhancer surfactant reagent (sodium lauryl sulfate) in the sodium hydroxide alkaline medium has shown greatly enhanced cell performance over published results. The present study has shown electrical cell performance of the PG cell as Ppp 782 μW, isc 3200 μA, Voc 1074 mV, and CE 11.02% at artificial and low illumination intensity. The storage capacity (t0.5) of the PG cell has been observed in the present study as 120 min in the dark. The study of variation of the different cell fabrication parameters has shown optimum cell performance at an optimal value of these cell fabrication parameters. The most plausible mechanism of the photo-generation of the current in PG cells is also proposed on the basis of observed potential values and published literature.

Photogalvanicists have conventionally used complicated, multichambered, sophisticated, and very costly cell designs for solar electricity and storage. We authors have simplified cell design with encouraging electrical output as well.We authors have used a simple, cheap, and one-chambered cell design based on cylindrical glass tubes instead of the costly, conventional, and complex Hshaped glass tube-based cell fabrication design. The study has been done under similar electrolytic and illuminating conditions for different cell designs based on various blackened H-shaped glass tubes of the different diffusion lengths, nonblackened simple glass boiling tube, blackened simple glass boiling tube, and simple noncoated glass beakers. Nonblackened glass tube-based cell design has shown very good electrical output, that is, power 439 μW, current 2100 μA, potential 1045 mV, efficiency 6.1%, and storage capacity 130 minutes. Under similar chemical and illuminating conditions, the electrical output of cells fabricated of the simple glass tube is as good as that of the conventional cells made from the complex H-shaped glass tube. Furthermore, the cell design based on a simple cylindrical glass tube is three-edged more advantageous (in terms of the cost, electrical output, and ease of fabrication) over all other cell designs reported so far.

No abstract

The photogalvanic (PG) cells involve a change in the electrode potential by photochemical processes along with the diffusion of ionic species through the bulk electrolyte. The PG cells have used so far the complex H‐shaped cell design, heavy sensitizer molecules with low diffusivity, and low photo‐stability. All these factors are not conducive to the fabrication of cheap cells with good electrical output. To address all these concerns, the tropaeline‐O dye photosensitizer (a low molecular weight molecule with higher diffusion and higher photo‐stability) has been exploited with diffusion‐friendly low cost and a simple transparent cylindrical glass tube. The optimum values of the cell's electrical parameters are:  potential 998 mV, current 3200 µA, and power 829.5 µW, and it is quite similar at all illumination window sizes.