Journal
NANO ENERGY
Volume 91, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106648
Keywords
Photoelectrochemical cells; TENG; Water splitting; Nanowires; Hydrogen
Categories
Funding
- Swedish Research Council [2019-05484]
- Swedish Energy Agency [46641-1]
- Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist, Sweden [SOEB-2015/167]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [61904130]
- Swedish Research Council [2019-05484] Funding Source: Swedish Research Council
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The study combined a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) with a dual-bandgap device to improve the efficiency of water splitting and significantly increase the energy of photo-generated carriers needed for hydrogen production. The synergy of photoexcitation and triboelectrics resulted in a substantial increase in the rate of hydrogen production.
A dual-bandgap photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell with two semiconductors stacked in tandem is a widely adopted concept to capture a large fraction of the solar spectrum for water splitting. While two photons are theoretically needed to produce one H2 molecule using single-bandgap PEC cells, four photons are generally required for one H2 molecule in the dual-bandgap cells because of an unavoidable charge recombination at the solid-solid interface. Here, triboelectric effects are exploited in the form of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to allow for the generation of one H2 molecule at the expenses of two photons in a dual-bandgap device using an array of core/shell p-type silicon/anatase-TiO2 nanowires as photoelectrode. The TENG, that converts mechanical energy to electricity, efficiently suppresses the charge recombination at the interface and significantly increases the energy of the photo-generated carriers required for the simultaneous water reduction and oxidation. The synergy of photoexcitation and triboelectrics results in a rate of hydrogen production in a neutral Na2SO4 electrolyte around 150 times higher than that of the counterpart, i.e., the device in the absence of TENG. Furthermore, the TENG-induced enhancement in the PEC water splitting remains substantial even when the solar power density is reduced to 20 mW/cm2.
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