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Title: Practical challenges in the development of photoelectrochemical solar fuels production

Abstract

Here, we address the challenges presented by photoelectrochemical solar fuels technology in a discussion that begins with a functioning device and proceeds to the more fundamental science of its component parts. In this flow of discussion issues are addressed that frame the discussion for the next, increasingly more fundamental topic. The analysis begins with a discussion of the need for an analytical facility for confirmation of reported efficiencies of solar fuels device prototypes and then progressively narrows its scope to prototype design, the discovery of novel materials and the design of durable interfacial structures for fuels evolution. Molecular hydrogen will be considered first as the target fuel since many of the challenges with hydrogen production are general and applicable to the more complex CO2 reduction, which will be treated as a supplementary subject.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8];  [9];  [10];  [11]; ORCiD logo [12];  [13]; ORCiD logo [11]; ORCiD logo [14];  [15]
  1. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States)
  2. New York Univ. (NYU), NY (United States)
  3. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States). Chemistry and Nanoscience Center
  4. California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
  5. Imperial College London (United Kingdom); Univ. of Swansea (United Kingdom)
  6. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
  7. Inst. of Mechanical Engineering, Lausanne (Switzerland)
  8. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  9. Technical Univ. of Munich (Germany)
  10. Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States)
  11. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  12. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis
  13. Univ. of Ilmenau (Germany)
  14. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
  15. Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1616982
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1579577; OSTI ID: 1606304; OSTI ID: 1775496
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5900-75059
Journal ID: ISSN 2398-4902; SEFUA7; ark:/13030/qt6tg7r712
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231; AC36-08GO28308; SC0017619
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Sustainable Energy & Fuels
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 4; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2398-4902
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; photoelectrochemical; solar fuels; molecular hydrogen; photoelectrochemical solar fuels; CO2 reduction; system prototyping; semiconductors and coating; 09 BIOMASS FUELS; 15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY; 30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; photoelectrochemical solar fuels, molecular hydrogen, CO2 reduction, system prototyping, semiconductors and coating

Citation Formats

Spitler, Mark T., Modestino, Miguel A., Deutsch, Todd G., Xiang, Chengxiang X., Durrant, James R., Esposito, Daniel V., Haussener, Sophia, Maldonado, Stephen, Sharp, Ian D., Parkinson, Bruce A., Ginley, David S., Houle, Frances A., Hannappel, Thomas, Neale, Nathan R., Nocera, Daniel G., and McIntyre, Paul C. Practical challenges in the development of photoelectrochemical solar fuels production. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1039/c9se00869a.
Spitler, Mark T., Modestino, Miguel A., Deutsch, Todd G., Xiang, Chengxiang X., Durrant, James R., Esposito, Daniel V., Haussener, Sophia, Maldonado, Stephen, Sharp, Ian D., Parkinson, Bruce A., Ginley, David S., Houle, Frances A., Hannappel, Thomas, Neale, Nathan R., Nocera, Daniel G., & McIntyre, Paul C. Practical challenges in the development of photoelectrochemical solar fuels production. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9se00869a
Spitler, Mark T., Modestino, Miguel A., Deutsch, Todd G., Xiang, Chengxiang X., Durrant, James R., Esposito, Daniel V., Haussener, Sophia, Maldonado, Stephen, Sharp, Ian D., Parkinson, Bruce A., Ginley, David S., Houle, Frances A., Hannappel, Thomas, Neale, Nathan R., Nocera, Daniel G., and McIntyre, Paul C. Wed . "Practical challenges in the development of photoelectrochemical solar fuels production". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9se00869a. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1616982.
@article{osti_1616982,
title = {Practical challenges in the development of photoelectrochemical solar fuels production},
author = {Spitler, Mark T. and Modestino, Miguel A. and Deutsch, Todd G. and Xiang, Chengxiang X. and Durrant, James R. and Esposito, Daniel V. and Haussener, Sophia and Maldonado, Stephen and Sharp, Ian D. and Parkinson, Bruce A. and Ginley, David S. and Houle, Frances A. and Hannappel, Thomas and Neale, Nathan R. and Nocera, Daniel G. and McIntyre, Paul C.},
abstractNote = {Here, we address the challenges presented by photoelectrochemical solar fuels technology in a discussion that begins with a functioning device and proceeds to the more fundamental science of its component parts. In this flow of discussion issues are addressed that frame the discussion for the next, increasingly more fundamental topic. The analysis begins with a discussion of the need for an analytical facility for confirmation of reported efficiencies of solar fuels device prototypes and then progressively narrows its scope to prototype design, the discovery of novel materials and the design of durable interfacial structures for fuels evolution. Molecular hydrogen will be considered first as the target fuel since many of the challenges with hydrogen production are general and applicable to the more complex CO2 reduction, which will be treated as a supplementary subject.},
doi = {10.1039/c9se00869a},
journal = {Sustainable Energy & Fuels},
number = 3,
volume = 4,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {12}
}

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