A molecular tandem cell for efficient solar water splitting.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32482883.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.2001753117 and PMC identifier 7306789.
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Abstract
Artificial photosynthesis provides a way to store solar energy in chemical bonds. Achieving water splitting without an applied external potential bias provides the key to artificial photosynthetic devices. We describe here a tandem photoelectrochemical cell design that combines a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell (DSPEC) and an organic solar cell (OSC) in a photoanode for water oxidation. When combined with a Pt electrode for H<sub>2</sub> evolution, the electrode becomes part of a combined electrochemical cell for water splitting, 2H<sub>2</sub>O → O<sub>2</sub> + 2H<sub>2</sub>, by increasing the voltage of the photoanode sufficiently to drive bias-free reduction of H<sup>+</sup> to H<sub>2</sub> The combined electrode gave a 1.5% solar conversion efficiency for water splitting with no external applied bias, providing a mimic for the tandem cell configuration of PSII in natural photosynthesis. The electrode provided sustained water splitting in the molecular photoelectrode with sustained photocurrent densities of 1.24 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> for 1 h under 1-sun illumination with no applied bias.