Photoenergy Harvesting by Photoacid Solution

Solar energy has seen 180 years of development since the discovery of the photovoltaic effect, having achieved the most successful commercialization in the energy-harvesting fields. Despite its long history, even the most state-of-the-art photovoltaics remain confined to solid-state devices, limiting spatial and light utilization efficiencies. Herein, a liquid-state photoenergy harvester based on a photoacid (PA), a chemical that releases protons upon light irradiation and recombines with them in the dark through a fully reversible reaction, is demonstrated. Asymmetric light exposure on a PA solution contained in a transparent tube generates a pH gradient (ΔpH = 2) along the exposed and dark regions, which charges the Nernst potential up to 0.7 V across the two electrodes embedded at each end, as if a capacitor. Owing to the reversibility of PAs, a PA-driven liquid-state photoenergy harvester (PLPH) generates capacitive currents up to 0.72 mA m^-2  on an irradiation. Notably, the transparent nature of the PLPH enables vertical stacking up to 25 units, which multiplies the light-harvesting efficiencies by over 1000%. This unique approach provides a new route to harness solar energy with a form-factor-free design that maximizes spatial and light-use efficiencies.