A Low-Cost and High-Efficiency Integrated Device toward Solar-Driven Water Splitting

Area of Science:

• Renewable energy conversion
• Materials science
• Catalysis

Background:

• Solar-driven water splitting offers a promising route for renewable fuel production.
• Current integrated devices suffer from immature designs and low efficiency, limiting their practical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, cost-effective integrated device for efficient solar-driven water splitting.
• To demonstrate a model architecture for future optimization of direct aqueous immersion devices.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an integrated device comprising series-connected perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and CoP catalyst electrodes.
• Direct immersion of the device into an aqueous solution for simultaneous solar energy conversion and water splitting.
• Utilizing a low-cost encapsulation technique for device construction.

Main Results:

• The integrated device achieved a solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of 6.7%.
• The series-connected carbon-based PSCs demonstrated a high solar-to-electric efficiency of 10.6%.
• The device exhibited a compact structure with efficient charge carrier dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The proposed integrated device offers a viable and efficient architecture for solar fuel production.
• The developed system showcases the potential of low-cost materials and facile fabrication for renewable energy applications.
• This work provides a foundational model for advancing direct aqueous immersion devices for water splitting.