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September 25, 2014
Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne
Scientists have a new efficient way of producing hydrogen fuel from
sunlight and water. By combining a pair of solar cells made with a
mineral called perovskite and low cost electrodes, scientists have
obtained a 12.3 percent conversion efficiency from solar energy to
hydrogen, a record using Earth-abundant materials as opposed to rare
metals.
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Credit: EPFL / LPI / Alain Herzog [Click to enlarge image]
T
When an electrical current is applied, water splits into hydrogen and oxygen.
he race is on to optimize solar energy's performance. More efficient
silicon photovoltaic panels, dye-sensitized solar cells, concentrated
cells and thermodynamic solar plants all pursue the same goal: to
produce a maximum amount of electrons from sunlight. Those electrons can
then be converted into electricity to turn on lights and power your refrigerator.
At the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at EPFL, led by Michael Grtzel, where
scientists invented dye solar cells that mimic photosynthesis in plants, they have also
developed methods for generating fuels such as hydrogen through solar water splitting.
To do this, they either use photoelectrochemical cells that directly split water into
hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to sunlight, or they combine electricity-generating
cells with an electrolyzer that separates the water molecules.
By using the latter technique, Grtzel's post-doctoral student Jingshan Luo and his
colleagues were able to obtain a performance so spectacular that their achievement is
being published today in the journal Science. Their device converts into hydrogen 12.3
percent of the energy diffused by the sun on perovskite absorbers -- a compound that
can be obtained in the laboratory from common materials, such as those used in
conventional car batteries, eliminating the need for rare-earth metals in the production
of usable hydrogen fuel.
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Bottled sun
This high efficiency provides stiff competition for other techniques used to convert solar
energy. But this method has several advantages over others:
"Both the perovskite used in the cells and the nickel and iron catalysts making up the
electrodes require resources that are abundant on Earth and that are also cheap,"
explained Jingshan Luo. "However, our electrodes work just as well as the expensive
platinum-based models customarily used."
On the other hand, the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen makes its storage
possible, which addresses one of the biggest disadvantages faced by renewable
electricity -- the requirement to use it at the time it is produced.
"Once you have hydrogen, you store it in a bottle and you can do with it whatever you
want to, whenever you want it," said Michael Grtzel. Such a gas can indeed be
burned -- in a boiler or engine -- releasing only water vapor. It can also pass into a fuel
cell to generate electricity on demand. And the 12.3% conversion efficiency achieved
at EPFL "will soon get even higher," promised Grtzel.
More powerful cells
These high efficiency values are based on a characteristic of perovskite cells: their
ability to generate an open circuit voltage greater than 1 V (silicon cells stop at 0.7 V,
for comparison).
"A voltage of 1.7 V or more is required for water electrolysis to occur and to obtain
exploitable gases," explained Jingshan Luo. To get these numbers, three or more
silicon cells are needed, whereas just two perovskite cells are enough. As a result,
there is more efficiency with respect to the surface of the light absorbers required.
"This is the first time we have been able to get hydrogen through electrolysis with only
two cells!" Luo adds.
The profusion of tiny bubbles escaping from the electrodes as soon as the solar cells
are exposed to light say it better than words ever could: the combination of sun and
water paves a promising and effervescent way for developing the energy of the future.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkGAqk-TXw8&feature=youtu.be
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale
de Lausanne. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Jingshan Luo, Jeong-Hyeok Im, Matthew T. Mayer, Marcel Schreier, Mohammad
Khaja Nazeeruddin, Nam-Gyu Park, S. David Tilley, Hong Jin Fan, and Michael
Grtzel. Water photolysis at 12.3% efficiency via perovskite photovoltaics
and Earth-abundant catalysts. Science, 26 September 2014: 1593-1596 DOI:
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Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne. "Efficiently harvesting hydrogen fuel
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September 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140925141232.htm>.
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