(286b) A Fully Integrated, Efficient and Stable Solar-Driven Water-Splitting Prototype

Efficient, stable and scalable solar-driven water-splitting cells have the potential to store solar energy on the terawatt scale.  The solar-hydrogen generator includes integration of the components for light absorption and charge separation, electrocatalysis for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and ionic transport between the two reaction chambers.  In this talk, I will present recent advancement in the prototyping development of a fully integrated, wireless solar-hydrogen cell in Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP).  Guided by multi-physics modeling and simulation, a range of distinctive solar-hydrogen prototypes has been fabricated, evaluated and characterized from a stand-alone PV+electrolyzer system to a fully integrated, monolithic photoelectrochemical system. Specifically, a fully integrated, acid-stable and scalable louvered operational solar-driven water-splitting system has been modeled numerically and constructed experimentally.  The louvered design maximized the area for light absorption and also provided necessary pathways for ion transport between the cathode and anode compartment.  Leveraging the recent development of TiO₂ films for photoelectrochemical protection, un-assisted solar-driven waters splitting at solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency above 13% has been achieved in a fully integrated prototype for stable operation.