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Thermoelectric-Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting under Concentrated Solar Irradiation.

Chanon Pornrungroj1, Virgil Andrei1, Erwin Reisner1

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Thermoelectric modules integrated into photoelectrochemical reactors convert waste heat into voltage, enabling unassisted solar fuel production. This approach enhances efficiency, particularly under concentrated light, for a circular economy.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Renewable Energy
  • Electrochemistry

Background:

  • Photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices are vital for solar fuel production in a circular economy.
  • Current PEC technologies face limitations due to thermalization losses and inefficient use of low-energy photons.
  • Waste heat generated during solar energy conversion is often unutilized.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the integration of thermoelectric modules into PEC reactors to utilize waste heat.
  • To enhance solar fuel production efficiency by converting thermal energy into electrical potential.
  • To demonstrate unassisted water splitting and improved photocurrent under concentrated light.

Main Methods:

  • Integration of thermoelectric modules with semiconductor photoanodes (BiVO4, perovskite-BiVO4, hematite, Fe2O3).
  • Operation of photoelectrochemical reactors under concentrated light irradiation (2-5 suns).
  • Measurement of photocurrent and voltage generation to assess device performance.

Main Results:

  • Achieved unassisted water splitting under 2 sun irradiation using a BiVO4 photoanode coupled with a thermoelectric element.
  • Demonstrated a 1.7-fold photocurrent enhancement for a perovskite-BiVO4 tandem system at 5 sun.
  • Observed a 29.7× photocurrent increase in thermoelectric-perovskite-Fe2O3 systems at 5 sun compared to devices without light concentration.

Conclusions:

  • Integrating thermoelectric modules offers a universal strategy to improve PEC device performance by utilizing waste heat.
  • This approach facilitates solar fuel production, especially under concentrated light, reducing reactor size and cost.
  • The thermal management strategy shows significant potential for advancing efficient and cost-effective solar fuel generation.