Highly Efficient Hydrogen Production Using a Reformed Electrolysis System Driven by a Single Perovskite Solar Cell

Abstract

Efficient hydrogen production by a photovoltaic‐electrolysis cell (PV–EC) system requires a low electrolyzer overpotential and a high coupling efficiency between both the components. Herein, Ni5P4 is proposed as a cost‐effective bifunctional electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution and hydrazine oxidation in a reformed electrolyzer. Experiments indicate that the electrolytic overpotential could be significantly reduced by replacing the oxygen evolution reaction with the hydrazine oxidation reaction at the anode. Furthermore, a scenario for hydrogen production is demonstrated by utilizing a stable and low‐cost perovskite solar cell (PSC) with a carbon back electrode to drive a reformed electrolyzer. Importantly, a single PSC can drive three reformed electrolyzers in series for hydrogen production by carefully matching the operating point of the electrolyzer with the maximum power point of the photovoltaic device, thereby, yielding a H2 evolution rate of 1.77 mg h−1 for the whole PV–EC system. This can be a potential starting point for hydrogen production using a single PSC‐driven electrolysis system.

Recent Advances in Self-Supported Layered Double Hydroxides for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

“…Hydrogen production through electrochemical water splitting is a more efficient and "greener" technology compared with the traditional steam-reforming method used to obtain hydrogen from natural gas [11][12][13]. In particular, electrochemical water splitting can be driven by the electricity generated by clean and sustainable energy sources like solar and wind power, making it economically affordable and energy-saving [1,[14][15][16]. In general, the water splitting process is composed of two half reactions: hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the cathode and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the anode [17,18].…”

Organic‐Inorganic Halide Perovskites: From Crystallization of Polycrystalline Films to Solar Cell Applications

“…Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted tremendous research interest from optoelectronics community during the past decade . Because of the versatile functionality, perovskite materials have been widely applied to photovoltaics, light‐emitting diodes, photodetectors, and thin film transistors .…”

Series and Parallel Module Design for Large-Area Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Organic–inorganic halide perovskites solar cells (PSCs, such as CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 ) have attracted widespread attention and achieved high efficiency because of the unique properties of perovskite. − The special optoelectronic properties, (such as, large absorption, long diffusion length, and high mobility) − and the low-cost fabrication methods (for example, vapor deposition and solution spin-coating) − significantly promote the development of PSCs. As a result of excellent preparation methods, device structure optimization, interface engineering, and so on, the efficiency of PSCs has reached as high as 23.3% .…”