Unassisted photoelectrochemical CO2-to-liquid fuel splitting over 12% solar conversion efficiency

Bilawal Khan, M. Bilal Faheem, Karthik Peramaiah, Jinlan Nie, Hao Huang, Zhongxiao Li, Chen Liu, Kuo-Wei Huang and Jr-Hau He ()
Additional contact information
Bilawal Khan: City University of Hong Kong
M. Bilal Faheem: Syracuse University
Karthik Peramaiah: Energy and Environment
Jinlan Nie: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
Hao Huang: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Zhongxiao Li: City University of Hong Kong
Chen Liu: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Kuo-Wei Huang: Energy and Environment
Jr-Hau He: City University of Hong Kong

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The increasing need to control anthropogenic CO2 emissions and conversion to fuels features the necessity for innovative solutions, one of which is photoelectrochemical system. This approach, capable of yielding gaseous production progressively, is facing challenges for liquid fuels generation due to optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. This study employs a standalone photoelectrochemical setup, in which InGaP/GaAs/Ge photoanode is integrated with tin-modified bismuth oxide cathode to convert CO2 into liquid formic acid. In unassisted two-electrode assembly, setup exemplifies its operational durability for 100 h, during which it maintains an average Faradaic efficiency of 88% with 17.3 mmol L–1 h–1 of yield, thereby excelling in average solar-to-fuel conversion efficiency at 12% with 60% of electrical energy efficiency under one sun illumination. This significant performance is further associated with metal-semiconductor interface formation between tin and bismuth oxide, which bridges electronic structures and generates an electric field at their interfaces. This study outperforms conventional solar-driven systems in operational durability and liquid fuel production.

Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-51088-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-024-51088-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51088-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().