Waveguide photoreactor enhances solar fuels photon utilization towards maximal optoelectronic – photocatalytic synergy

Abstract

A conventional light management approach on a photo-catalyst is to concentrate photo-intensity to enhance the catalytic rate. We present a counter-intuitive approach where light intensity is distributed below the electronic photo-saturation limit under the principle of light maximization. By operating below the saturation point of the photo-intensity induced hydroxide growth under reactant gaseous H2+CO2 atmosphere, a coating of defect engineered In2O3-x(OH)y nanorod Reverse Water Gas Shift solar-fuel catalyst on an optical waveguide outperforms a coated plane by a factor of 2.2. Further, light distribution along the length of the waveguide increases optical pathlengths of the weakly absorptive green and yellow wavelengths, which increases CO product rate by a factor of 8.1-8.7 in the visible. Synergistically pairing with thinly doped silicon on the waveguide enhances the CO production rate by 27% over the visible. In addition, the persistent photoconductivity behavior of the In2O3-x(OH)y system enables CO production at a comparable rate for 2 h after turning off photo-illumination, enhancing yield with 44-62% over thermal only yield. The practical utility of persistent photocatalysis was demonstrated through outdoor solar concentrator tests, which after a day-and-night cycle showed CO yield increase of 19% over a day-light only period.

Synergy of Pd atoms and oxygen vacancies on In2O3 for methane conversion under visible light

“…S3a . The binding peaks centered at 529.72 eV, 531.59 eV and 533.02 eV were assigned to the lattice oxygen, OVs and adsorbed moisture, respectively, which directly supported the existence of OVs, consistent with the EPR results and amorphous layer discussed below 59 . In comparison, Pd-In 2 O 3 (Fig.…”

Exceptional Photocatalytic Activities of rGO Modified (B,N) Co‐Doped WO3, Coupled with CdSe QDs for One Photon Z‐Scheme System: A Joint Experimental and DFT Study

“…It is irresistible to develop sustainable, clean, and environmentally friendly energy resources. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Solar energy is rich in terms of its availability to satisfy present and future worldwide energy needs. [7][8][9] Nevertheless, it is quite indispensable to change solar energy into other forms that are stress-free to stock, transport, and utilize.…”

Weak Localization Enhanced Ultrathin Scattering Media

“…[35][36][37] Furthermore, here, we demonstrated weak localization feature of the biomimetic DBS relying on a distorted Bragg reflector design that provides a blueprint for tailoring nanostructures to particularly support random photonic resonances that can enhance light-matter interaction. Therefore, they may find applications as materials for efficient solar energy harvesting [3,26,38] or sensor applications, where resonance enhanced absorption is employed to improve sensitivity. [39] Investigations into whether the, here, observed phenomena might be found in various other scattering media and gaining a better understanding of the structural properties supporting transport modified by weak localization will be the subject of further studies.…”