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Light induced water splitting using multijunction thin film silicon solar cells
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Urbain, Félix Jaegermann, Wolfram |
| Copyright Year | 2016 |
| Abstract | It has been widely recognised that fossil fuel reserves are not sufficient to cover the energy demand of our societies in the future, even if the energy utilisation would stagnate on today’s level. The extent of the problem is also associated with the emission of the greenhouse gas CO2 upon combustion of fossil fuels that can lead to unpredictable climate changes on earth. Nature’s own processes of fuel generation based on biomass utilisation are considered to be not efficient enough to replenish the used resources on a short time scale. To relieve this predicament, a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is therefore imperative and unavoidable. Renewable and carbon-free energy from wind and solar radiation are the only means which can fully replace fossil fuels and are able to cover an increasing energy demand in the future. But up to now, these fluctuating energy resources lack an appropriate and efficient storage technology. Light induced water splitting, a process that mimics natural photosynthesis, provides a viable example of an ecofriendly energy concept as it converts solar energy into a storable and clean chemical fuel with a high gravimetric energy density, namely hydrogen. To be competitive with fossil fuels or hydrogen production by other means, this process must however become highly efficient and low-cost. In this regard, the utilisation of semiconductor based devices for the photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen from water and sunlight is a promising and elegant means to store renewable energy and has been attracting considerable interest among research groups worldwide. To split water efficiently into its components hydrogen and oxygen the semiconductor photoelectrode has to meet several requirements: ❼ A high quantum efficiency to utilise the solar spectrum efficiently for the generation of charge carriers, ❼ The generation of a photovoltage at the working point of approx. 1.6 V to sustain the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions and to account for additional losses (overpotentials), ❼ Electrochemical stability in a harsh and corrosive environment, and ❼ Fast kinetics of the charge transfer at the solid/liquid junction to inhibit unintended side reactions (catalysis). |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/660412/files/660412.pdf?subformat=pdfa |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/811613/files/Energie_Umwelt_323.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/811613/files/Energie_Umwelt_323.pdf?subformat=pdfa |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
