Tandem photo-electrode of InGaN with two Si p-n junctions for CO2 conversion to HCOOH with the efficiency greater than biological photosynthesis

Sekimoto, Takeyuki; Shinagawa, Shuichi; Uetake, Yusuke; Noda, Katsuhisa; Deguchi, Masahiro; Yotsuhashi, Satoshi; Ohkawa, Kazuhiro

doi:10.1063/1.4910510

Cited by 40 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…where is the thermodynamic energy stored in the CO 2 /CO couple, J is the observed current density, FE CO is the faradaic efficiency towards CO formation and I solar is the solar power density. The measured current density and FE combine to yield a CO 2 reduction efficiency >6.5%, a new benchmark exceeding greatly the efficiencies previously reported on systems driven by Si photovoltaics 27 28 . In addition, considering hydrogen that is formed as a secondary product at an average faradaic yield of 10.5% over the whole experiment, a solar-to-fuel efficiency exceeding 7% was achieved using this system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

et al. 2015

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Artificial photosynthesis, mimicking nature in its efforts to store solar energy, has received considerable attention from the research community. Most of these attempts target the production of H2 as a fuel and our group recently demonstrated solar-to-hydrogen conversion at 12.3% efficiency. Here, in an effort to take this approach closer to real photosynthesis, which is based on the conversion of CO2, we demonstrate the efficient reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide driven solely by simulated sunlight using water as the electron source. Employing series-connected perovskite photovoltaics and high-performance catalyst electrodes, we reach a solar-to-CO efficiency exceeding 6.5%, which represents a new benchmark in sunlight-driven CO2 conversion. Considering hydrogen as a secondary product, an efficiency exceeding 7% is observed. Furthermore, this study represents one of the first demonstrations of extended, stable operation of perovskite photovoltaics, whose large open-circuit voltage is shown to be particularly suited for this process.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

et al. 2015

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“…Moreover, the presented concept also clearly distinguishes itself from proof-of-concept approaches, demonstrating small-scale subassemblies for solardriven CO 2 reduction. 14,49,[55][56][57][58][59] The coupling of pure academic with engineered systems is urgently needed to mature CO 2 recycling processes and open the pathway towards a commercial application. This aspect is successfully addressed by the proposed concept.…”

Section: B Photoanode Composed Of Si Heterojunction Solar Cell and Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the scalable modular design of the presented device bears great benefits and cross-fertilization for a number of related catalytic and photovoltaic technologies. Thus, our reactor concept for CO 2 conversion is not limited to small active electrode areas, 60,61 or expensive small-scale photovoltaic structures, 49,54,57 but can be adapted to large scale designs.…”

Section: B Photoanode Composed Of Si Heterojunction Solar Cell and Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

A prototype reactor for highly selective solar-driven CO₂reduction to synthesis gas using nanosized earth-abundant catalysts and silicon photovoltaics

Urbain

Tang

Carretero

et al. 2017

Energy Environ. Sci.

123

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The conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into value-added chemicals and fuels, preferably using renewable energy and earth-abundant materials, is considered a key priority for future energy research. In this work, a bias-free reactor device for the solar-driven conversion of CO2 to synthesis gas (syngas) has been developed. The integrated fluidic device consists of a cathode made of copper foam coated with low-cost nanosized zinc flakes as catalyst to perform the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to syngas, an adapted silicon heterojunction solar cell structure as photoanode with nickel foam as catalyst to facilitate the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and a bipolar membrane separating the respective catholyte and anolyte compartments. The membrane allows for the operation of the catholyte and anolyte at different pH values. Stable and tunable hydrogen-to-carbon monoxide (H2:CO) ratios between 5 and 0.5 along with high CO Faradaic efficiencies of up to 85% and CO current densities of 39.4 mA cm-2 have been demonstrated. Under photoelectrolysis conditions, the photovoltage of the photoanode was varied between 0.6 V and 2.4 V by connecting up to four heterojunction solar cells in series, and thus reducing the overall cell voltage solely by solar energy utilization. Bias-free operation of the integrated device has been achieved under ambient conditions with active areas for CO2RR and OER, respectively, of 10 cm2. An operation current density of 5.0 mA cm-2 was measured under 100 mW cm-2 illumination of the complete device, which corresponds to a solar-to-syngas conversion efficiency of 4.3%.Postprint (author's final draft

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“…[ 81 ] The Eff STFm increased up to 0.97% using a tandem PEC cell consisting of In as the cathode and GaN as the photoanode, which were connected with two Si solar cells ( Figure a). [ 82 ] The efficiency is higher than that in the biological photosynthesis because of a high LHE due to high light absorption in solar spectrum (Figure 10b). Grätzel and co‐workers developed a tandem PEC cell connected with three PSCs in series, which consisted of high‐performance electrodes of IrO 2 as the OER catalyst and Au as the HER catalyst (Figure 10c).…”

Section: Design and Development Of Stand‐alone Pec Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stand‐Alone Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversions

et al. 2021

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The photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversions of water and atmospheric CO2 to value‐added fuels, such as H2, CH4, and CH3OH, can provide potential alternative sources for clean and environment‐friendly solar fuels. Several efforts are reported on the designing and developing stand‐alone PEC cells that efficiently produce H2 and O2 from water and minimize atmospheric CO2 via conversion to fuels under only sunlight. However, in reality, high overpotential, poor product‐selectivity, competitive side‐reactions, and self‐reduction of a catalyst limit the performance of the PEC cells, thereby requiring high power inputs. The choice of electrode materials and architectures of PEC cells are very important for designing stand‐alone and durable PEC cells with high solar‐to‐fuels conversion efficiency (EffSTF) and high selectivity. The present review provides a complete account of recent published works on stand‐alone PEC systems with different architectures; development of electrode materials for high EffSTF, selectivity, and stability; and the current challenges. Furthermore, this review describes the future outlook on stand‐alone PEC systems for future production of clean solar fuels and mitigation of atmospheric CO2 levels by utilizing only solar energy.

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Tandem photo-electrode of InGaN with two Si p-n junctions for CO2 conversion to HCOOH with the efficiency greater than biological photosynthesis

Cited by 40 publications

References 25 publications

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

A prototype reactor for highly selective solar-driven CO₂reduction to synthesis gas using nanosized earth-abundant catalysts and silicon photovoltaics

Stand‐Alone Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversions

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Tandem photo-electrode of InGaN with two Si p-n junctions for CO2 conversion to HCOOH with the efficiency greater than biological photosynthesis

Cited by 40 publications

References 25 publications

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics

A prototype reactor for highly selective solar-driven CO2reduction to synthesis gas using nanosized earth-abundant catalysts and silicon photovoltaics

Stand‐Alone Photoelectrochemical Energy Conversions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A prototype reactor for highly selective solar-driven CO₂reduction to synthesis gas using nanosized earth-abundant catalysts and silicon photovoltaics