Photo‐assisted Rechargeable Metal Batteries for Energy Conversion and Storage

Abstract

Solar cells hold a function of photovoltaic conversion, while rechargeable metal batteries have an advantage of high energy storage. The conventional charge mode of batteries is made based on complete utilization of electric energy. The combination of solar cells and rechargeable metal batteries brings a new opportunity for the development of photo‐assisted rechargeable batteries, in which the solar energy can be utilized to partially achieve photo‐charging with or without external electrical bias. This review highlights the working mechanism and structure design of photo‐assisted rechargeable metal batteries according to the characteristics of rechargeable metal batteries and advantage of the photovoltaic technology. In particular, the recent advances are introduced for photo‐assisted rechargeable batteries based on light‐weight metal anodes, including metal lithium, metal sodium, and metal zinc. The working features of the integrated devices are also discussed for energy saving under photo‐assisted charging mode. Finally, a future outlook is provided for further improving the performance of photo‐assisted rechargeable metal batteries.

Fabrication of Zn-Cu-Ni Ternary Oxides in Nanoarrays for Photo-Enhanced Pseudocapacitive Charge Storage

“…When the light was switched off, the current was reversed to 230 μA cm −2 , and then stabilized at 27 μA cm −2 in the next cycles. The quick response of the photocurrent upon the light switching on and off suggests CF@ZnCuNiO x NAs are highly sensitive to light illumination, which results from the photoelectric effect of the MMOs [ 33 , 34 ]. The photogenerated charge carriers may be favorable to promoting the redox reaction during electrochemical energy storage.…”

Integrated Photovoltaic Charging and Energy Storage Systems: Mechanism, Optimization, and Future

“…Other issues in considering Ru-based dyes are their cost, as ruthenium is a rare metal that is expensive and toxic and they also have limited near-infrared absorption. [64][65][66] Another photoelectrode material, semiconductor-based photocatalyst is the core part of SPRBs device, which absorbs sunlight and provides driving force for Photoelectrochemical reaction. Semiconductors used as photoelectrodes include metal oxides, IV, III-V compounds, and metallic chalcogenides.…”

“…Compared with liquid batteries, which are prone to explosion at high temperatures, solid-state electrolyte (SSE) batteries are more stable. [10,66] High-performance all-solid-state photorechargeable battery (ASSPB) is a kind of battery that uses SSE to replace liquid electrolyte in traditional photorechargeable battery. Compared with the traditional LSPB, the solid-state photo rechargeable battery can be designed with freedom structure and the property of miniature, ultrathin, and flexibility can be designed according to requirements, which can be applied to microelectronics and flexible wearable devices.…”

Photoelectrochemical energy storage materials: design principles and functional devices towards direct solar to electrochemical energy storage

“…1b), the potential energies of each part need to be highly compatible to form an effective redox cycle for the utilization of photogenerated electrons or holes. 14–17 Although this design improves the practicality to some extent, the internal integration of the photoelectrode and the use of the redox shuttle certainly increase the complexity and cost of battery construction. Considering this, an appealing solution is designing a single device system, which implements direct solar energy storage in just two-electrode configuration.…”