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arXiv · 2009.03564

Decoupled photoelectrochemical water splitting system for centralized hydrogen production

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers an elegant approach for solar energy conversion into hydrogen fuel. Large-scale hydrogen production requires stable and efficient photoelectrodes and scalable PEC cells that are fitted for safe and cost-effective operation. One of the greatest challenges is the collection of hydrogen gas from millions of PEC cells distributed in the solar field. In this work, a separate-cell PEC system with decoupled hydrogen and oxygen cells was designed for centralized hydrogen production, using 100 cm2 hematite (a-Fe2O3) photoanodes and nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) / oxyhydroxide (NiOOH) electrodes as redox mediators. The operating conditions of the system components and their configuration were optimized for daily cycles, and ten 8.3 h cycles were carried out under solar simulated illumination without additional bias at an average short-circuit current of 55.2 mA. These results demonstrate successful operation of a decoupled PEC water splitting system with separate hydrogen and oxygen cells.

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Avigail Landman, Rawan Halabi, Paula Dias, Hen Dotan, Alexander Mehlmann, Gennady E. Shter, Manar Halabi, Omayer Naserladeen, Adélio Mendes, Gideon S. Grader, Avner Rothschild. 2020-09-08. Decoupled photoelectrochemical water splitting system for centralized hydrogen production. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2019.12.006

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